Consequences of Our Actions
by WhizGidget
Summary: They're married, nobody knows about it, but the cat is working it's way out of the bag...
1. Default Chapter Title

Title:Consequences of our Actions

Disclosure: Warner Brothers Television Distribution and Shoot The Moon Productions owns these characters, as well as to the writers, and actors who created and portrayed them.I am just a humble author who wanted to breathe a little life back into them in an effort to be entertaining.

Timing and assumptions:Just after series ended.Obviously, no one knows about the marriage, Lee and Amanda are still sneaking around to get time together, and all those who were peeping toms into their lives want to know how it all ended up.Generous references to the past and the events of the 4th season… and occasionally you might see a character utter a familiar line…

Author:WhizGidget 

Written:Dec 2000-Jan 2001

Rating: PG-ish… probably more accurate as a G, but this allows for one's mind to wander…

Archive: here at fanfiction.net, but if you wish to elsewhere, please email me…

Comments?I'd love to see 'em.Encouragement to continue?I'd love that too.Flames? Sure, why not, I need something to roast marshmallows by… 

The agent crept as silently as possible through the warehouse behind dozens of large crates.Voices drifted through the boxes, and a sharp slapping sound resounded through the space.She drew the gun up hesitantly as she moved, hoping not to be discovered, hoping to not need that gun.Peeking through a space, she could see her partner, on his knees, with a gun to his head by a man she did not recognize.Her partner had a trickle of blood from the right side of his mouth – he was the recipient of the slap she had heard – but could still speak and addressed his captor as Sims.One of his contacts, Fritz, was in a similar position, with his feet and hands tied, gun to his head by Williams, the thief they had been following for the past couple of days, and who had been seen with Fritz earlier in the night.

She decided to move around the boxes to get back to the car and call for backup.As she moved, she jostled a box, and distracted everyone.Her partner took advantage of the disturbance, and punched Sims in the midsection.He then quickly moved into a position where he could sweep his leg around and Sims, who had managed for fire a round, lost his balance and came off his feet. 

In the chaos, Fritz ended up being grazed by that wild shot.Williams stood stock still, not fully realizing what was going on, until he saw Sims go down.Williams turned and pointed his gun at the agent who was quickly ensuring that Sims wasn't going to be up anytime soon.The female agent realized what was going on, raised her gun, and fired off a shot, not fully sure where it would land, as her partner, realizing what was happening, launched himself towards the nearest pile of crates for cover.

She had shot Williams in the chest before he was able to fire off a round.

Fritz lay perfectly still, unconscious from hitting his head on the floor. 

Her partner, from the cover of crates, looked back towards where she was. 

Williams hit the floor on his back, and the result of what she had done was visibly apparent on the white dress shirt he had been wearing.

The gun in her hands dropped to the floor just seconds before she did.

A thin ray of sunlight started to filter through the drapes, and woke up one of the sleeping agents.

Lee Stetson was facing his beloved wife; his arm slung over her waist, hand in the small of her back where it often rested when they were out together.He smiled to himself, as they often woke together this way – she always slept on her right, he always on his left – and as a result, the first thing they saw when they went to sleep and woke up was each other."Which doesn't happen often enough to suit me," Lee thought wryly.

Amanda looked exhausted, and rightly so considering the events of the previous night, but she had slept the entire night through without difficulty.Lee, however, had woken up regularly to check on her, worried that she would be suffering from nightmares or sleeplessness.He was lucky to have convinced Billy that they could debrief in the morning so that they both could get some rest.Lee just wondered when they would be required to come in to go over the whole thing again.

As if on cue, Lee heard the phone ring in the living room. That had to be Billy.He had turned the ringer off in the bedroom, as he often did when he and Amanda could sneak a night together, so that they were not disturbed.He moved slightly and reached to pick up the phone on the bedside table.

"Yeah, Billy.I'm awake.What do you want?"Lee smiled as he heard his boss laugh in the phone.

He was often right when his phone rang lately – it was either Amanda, or Billy, or some other innocuous caller.Not like the days when he didn't know who would be calling due to all the women who had paraded in and out of his apartment, bed, and life.The Playboy edition of Lee Stetson's life was out of circulation, and he was a happier man for it.

"Lee, it's time to bring Amanda in and go through the paces."

"I know. I know.But what would it hurt to let her sleep in a little more?It's going to be a beautiful Sunday morning, and she's probably having a nice dream in her comfortable bed—"

"Lee, I know she's at your place.Dr. Smyth sent out the order last night to have agents follow her home, and they tell me that she never left your place last night.In fact, we know—"

"WHAT?!!What's Smyth thinking now?That's she's a threat to national security?Ok Billy, yes, we never headed for her house last night.She didn't want to go home.She needed to de-compress, and I didn't think that it would be a good idea for her to go home in the condition she was in.What would her mother think?" Lee took a deep breath.He had to remind himself to speak in a low voice so that he wouldn't wake up Amanda, but that didn't seem like a concern – she had moaned and turned over, still sleeping, dead to the world from exhaustion. "So she came over here.Come on, Billy, how many times have you already gone looking for one of us at the other's house?What's the big deal?She's stayed over here before after a rough assignment.That's what friends do—"

"Cut it, Scarecrow." Billy sounded irritated."You're getting too defensive.Remember, whatever your relationship with Amanda is it's fine with me."Billy sighed, and smiled to himself.He knew that Lee and Amanda had a taken a very serious turn in their relationship, although how serious it went, neither agent was admitting.But there was a time, place and purpose for every conversation, and now was not the time for this one."She's still asleep, huh?Did she rest well?"Billy's concern was apparent in his voice. 

"Yeah, she was fine.She was almost asleep on her feet when we got here, so we settled on the bed.She didn't want to be left alone."Lee slowly got up off the bed and looked over at Amanda.Not an outright lie – she had been tired when they arrived at the apartment, and he had carried her over to the bed, but they had held each other until she fell asleep.He didn't like lying to Billy – his boss, his friend for many years."She might want to go home to change before we come in, Billy.She slept in what she was wearing, and might want to freshen up a little.And check in on the boys."Also not a lie—no matter how infrequently they had stayed together or were out for a night because of an assignment, Amanda usually headed home right before work to change clothes at her home and to check on the boys.

"Good.I want you both in the debriefing rooms by 7:30.After you're done, Amanda's got one on one time with Dr. Pfaff to talk through this…" Billy braced himself for the torrents to follow.

"Oh, come on, Billy, Pfaff?She doesn't need a head shrinker.She's fine. I know I'm not an expert, but I've seen enough agents with first time deadly force, and I've gone through it myself to know.No apparent nightmares.No shock.She doesn't need the one on one.Maybe some time off for good behavior…"

"She'll get that too Lee, but I stand firm.She's going in to Pfaff, and you're both taking time off."Authority was starting to creep into Billy's voice, and if it came to it, he would force the order down Lee's throat.

"Come on, Billy, you know as well as I do that Pfaff's useless.I mean, what kind of shrink is effective when he's got an oral fixation and lies down on the couch during sessions?He's always sucking on those ice cream bars whenever I've seen him, talking about how we feel—"

"That's his job, Lee.Besides, you haven't had need to see him in a while – he's given up the ice cream bars.Doc McJohn told him to get his cholesterol down."Billy smiled.That would keep Lee at bay for a few minutes.

"Yeah, he's probably using lollipop's to satisfy himself now, right?Billy, what's so funny?" Lee knew he was right."He is, isn't he?Oh god, don't put Amanda through all that.She's been through enough.Let her get through debriefing and take the time off, and let her figure out if she needs Pfaff.Besides, we'll both be off, and I have to plans to go anywhere, so if she needs someone to talk to, she can come and talk to me."Lee thought quickly about whether they could pick up and leave or if there was anything going on with the boys that would keep Amanda at home for the next few days while they were off duty.He couldn't think of anything.He knew Philip and Jaime's schedules almost as well as Amanda since they had let her family know that they were seeing each other.It would be good for the both of them to get away for a while – just the two of them.They hadn't really had any time together since their ill-fated honeymoon. 

It would be different if the two boys knew about the elopement that had taken place in February, but Lee firmly believed that that knowledge would put the whole family at risk.If the great and fearsome Scarecrow moved to suburbia, the rumors would fly – he'd gotten soft, there were weaknesses, he was leaving the business.It was bad enough with the rumors around the office about he and Amanda, but that hadn't weakened anyone's opinion about them – they were the most effective and successful team The Agency had, and no one could second-guess them.Even rookies were impressed when they found out that Amanda had been a divorced stay at home mom from Arlington and had been in the right place at the right time when she was picked up as a random civilian courier in a train station.Lee looked over at his wife's still form.Now she was the partner of the infamous Scarecrow – the once self-proclaimed lone wolf, a dangerous agent, now a husband and stepfather.If only they knew…

Billy raising his voice broke his reverie, "…not qualified and that's that.She's seeing Pfaff.I'm shutting down the Q-Bureau today once you give me a run-down of what's going on up there.You can use the time while Amanda's in with Pfaff to finish any outstanding reports and write any updates you need to.Get Francine up there with you so that she knows what's going on in case anything you've got becomes a powder keg."Obviously while Lee tuned out, Billy was giving him the "you're not a qualified shrink" talk again.He'd supported Amanda (whether Billy knew it or not) over the previous 4 years since they'd met, and she had brought him into the land of the living.Of course, he was qualified.But he gave in.There was going to be no changing of Billy's mind today. 

"Ok Billy, we'll see you when we get there.I'll stay with her the whole way.But do me this favor, please? Call the dogs off- she'll spot them when we're in her neighborhood, and you know that as well as I do.And why does she have a tail?"

"Sorry, Lee.Smyth's orders.All I know is that Smyth wanted them to stay on her until she debriefs.I don't understand it either – this was a routine stakeout for the both of you, and it shouldn't have escalated to this level.And before you start," Billy said, cutting off the beginning of Lee's protest, "I know she wouldn't do anything to compromise herself or The Agency, but you know how Smyth feels about her.Just stay with her, let her know we trust her, and get the both of you in here."Billy hung up on Lee, and sighed.This was going to be a tough day, and Scarecrow wasn't going to make it any easier by attempting to be Amanda's protector.Internal Affairs had called that morning, and let him know that they were going through the motions of doing their background checks on agents.Lee and Amanda's names came up as going through the wringer.Billy sighed.Well, maybe, for once, Scarecrow hadn't done anything that would bring two tons of paperwork onto his desk.

At his end, Lee sighed and hung up the phone, shook his head and wondered how much Billy knew.And with Smyth assigning agents to watch Amanda's whereabouts through the night, he wondered if he should do his own sweep of the apartment for bugs while they had some time off.Usually The Agency did regular sweeps, but with Smyth ordering a watch on Amanda, that last sweep could also have been to plant some of their own bugs.Perhaps he should spend a little of their time off doing a little extermination work of his own.Besides, Amanda could stand to learn how to look for those kinds of things.He smiled to himself – always trying to teach her something new if he could.Smyth was right – she was his protégé.But she was a damn good agent too, and the instincts and reactions that she had were hers and hers alone."No one can teach you that kind of stuff," Lee muttered aloud.

"You can teach me anything you want, Scarecrow," Amanda turned over and looked at her husband.He looked so concerned, and surprised that she was awake."Does Mr. Melrose have you cornered with reports again while I go through debriefing?"

"Sorry, Manda.Did I wake you?"Lee sat down on the bed, leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.

"I've been awake since I heard the phone ring in the other room.So, what's Dr. Smyth trying to pin on me now?I heard you ask to have the dogs called off.Are there people outside?"Amanda looked amused at this.She had never felt comfortable around Dr. Smyth, and figured that he must have something new up his sleeve about her.

"You've been awake – why does that not surprise me? I guess I should have figured that when you turned over you weren't sleeping.You rarely turn over in your sleep, and you didn't have that little smile you always seem to have.I blamed that on last night, but I underestimated you, huh?"Lee ran a finger down the side of her cheek as she sat up."Yeah, Smyth's got the watchers outside the building.I was so worried and relieved last night that I didn't think about watching if there was anyone behind us.That and there were so many of us leaving at the same time…" Lee trailed off, thinking about his conversation with Billy.Something didn't add up."Amanda, Billy's scheduled time with Pfaff for you today.

"I know, standard procedure, I heard you two on the phone.He's just looking out for me, Lee, that's his job.You know as well as I do that if one of us goes south, we'd drag the other down.You're my partner, and you're the best man The Agency has.Ugh," Amanda stretched and got up off the bed, and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror."I look horrible.Lee, how could you let me sleep in these clothes?I've got to go home and change; I don't have any—Oh, no, Mother.What am I going to tell her this time?Wait a minute, did you say Dr. Smyth had us followed last night?"She stopped at the look on Lee's face and his finger to his mouth.What was bothering him finally came to light - something Billy had tried to say before he cut him off came back to him: "In fact, we know…" What did they know?Did they know about their marriage, or just that they were involved in more than an Agency partnership?And how did Billy know whatever it was that he knew?He was positive at this point that there were Agency bugs in his place.

"Amanda, you were tired, and you headed straight for the bed last night.And you wanted a little comfort, so we talked and happened to fall asleep.I called your mother and told her that we got caught up in some paperwork, and you fell asleep here.I knew that you didn't want her to worry.I didn't want to wake you up and all my sweats are in the wash."Lee bent down by the window and started looking under a table."By the way, how's your head?You hit the ground pretty hard last night…"

"My head's fine.I still have a little bit of a headache, but otherwise I'm ok.I think."Amanda winced slightly at Lee opening the drapes to let a little more light in."Maybe I should grab some aspirin."

"I'll get you that aspirin.Oh, and could you give me a few minutes to get cleaned up and I'll take you home so you can change?Billy wants us in debriefing by 8:30, so we've got a little time.Why don't I go get some coffee started?Interested?"Lee held up a wire that he had just found tucked under the edge of the carpet.He also found a small circular microphone that was secured just behind a table lamp.Lee raised an eyebrow and handed it over to her.

"Yeah, I'm very interested.But let me make the coffee, since I pretty much forced you to let me stay here last night and unwind."Amanda nodded her head, understanding.They didn't know how long the bug had been there, and she didn't know what possessed Lee into looking for things out of the ordinary, but she was glad that their conversation last night hadn't tipped any clues about their relationship, or anything about what happened last night other than the fact that she had been very scared, and confused when it was over.She absently pulled at the diamond heart necklace she usually wore. 

Lee started pulling back the edges of the carpet some more, and didn't find any more wire, but kept hunting for more bugs.Someone had definitely been there, and been busy because there were all sorts of loose sections on the edges of the carpet.Near the door to the bedroom, Lee found yet another piece of wire anchored out of the way – antenna wire.Amanda had gone into the kitchen by then and started the coffee brewing.She pulled out the utility shears that she had put in the kitchen a few months ago, and handed them over to Lee.He grabbed them and headed back into the bedroom and started clipping in half the wires he found.

Amanda started doing a quick search of the living room.Almost immediately she found a small microphone on the back of a photo on the sofa table of the two of them that had been taken a couple of years ago at a Christmas party.Amanda handled the frame carefully – she had been surprised the first time that she saw the photo in Lee's apartment shortly after it was taken, and even more surprised that he had kept it in such a prominent spot in the living room.

Amanda called out "Lee, coffee's ready!" and he came out of the bedroom on his hands and knees, still following the molding, looking for more loose carpet edge.She plucked the mic off the frame, and headed for the kitchen.The two mics found their way down the garbage disposal as Lee looked opened the window in time to hear a scream from one of the agents in a car down below.

"Good morning guys!Eddington, is that you?You always did scream like a girl in Dr. Pain's sessions.I don't know how many more bugs you've got up here, but Amanda's doing some exterminating work, and she's not too happy.You must be slipping if the housewife found some of your work," at this point Lee was hit from behind with a large sofa cushion, "– that or she's better than you care to admit.Remember, she's taking the same courses you guys did long ago – and now she's got Leatherneck working with her too…Oh, just so you know, we're going to finish our coffee, head for her place, and then head into the office.Let Smyth know that we're on our way."Lee closed the window and smiled.

To be continued…


	2. Default Chapter Title

Title:Consequences of our Actions

Disclosure: Warner Brothers Television Distribution and Shoot The Moon Productions owns these characters, as well as to the writers, and actors who created and portrayed them.I am just a humble author who wanted to breathe a little life back into them in an effort to be entertaining.

Timing and assumptions:Just after series ended.Obviously, no one knows about the marriage, Lee and Amanda are still sneaking around to get time together, and all those who were peeping toms into their lives want to know how it all ended up.Generous references to the past and the events of the 4th season… and occasionally you might see a character utter a familiar line…

Author:WhizGidget 

Written:Dec 2000-Jan 2001

Rating: PG-ish… probably more accurate as a G, but this allows for one's mind to wander…

Archive: here at fanfiction.net, but if you wish to elsewhere, please email me…

Comments?I'd love to see 'em.Encouragement to continue?I'd love that too.Flames? Sure, why not, I need something to roast marshmallows by… 

After going out of their way to take Amanda back to Arlington, they headed for The Agency and the debriefing.They met Billy at his office, and he led the way to the separate interrogation rooms they would be in.Usually Lee could convince Billy that he wanted to watch Amanda's session, but there would be none of that this day.They had to go in at the same time.

The previous night had been trying to both of them.The assignment had been simple at first.A background check, whereabouts, haunts and habits on some thief named Williams who specialized in maps of diplomatic residences and any weak spots they might have.A potential powder keg, if those blueprints found their way into the wrong hands, but this time it looked like he was just in DC for some recreational behavior. 

At least that's what it looked like to Lee and Amanda as they had tailed him on Friday night and Saturday evening through some of the nicer restaurants and bars in the area.It allowed the two agents some much-needed time together as they watched his guy work his way place to place trying to pick up women.

They had written Friday night off to her family as a date, and Saturday was going to be a working evening going over paperwork.That excuse was wearing thin – after all, how many Saturday nights could be spent working on paperwork, when they could be out having a good time.Dotty West, Amanda's mother, wasn't buying any of it anymore, and they all knew it.Lee and Amanda supposed it was easier for her to nod and accept it rather than try to pin down what her daughter was really up to with each other. And Amanda needed to come up with better excuses soon, or just admit that something more serious was going on.

"Lee, this guy is a schmuck.I mean, how many drinks can he get turned down for before he gives up?I know it's our job, but—"

"Amanda…" 

"I know, be quiet." Amanda smiled and tipped her head down, knowing that Lee was starting to feel guilty right about now.She had known him for so long, and knew his habits."Lee, what if I went out there and tried to get him picking up on me?We both know that he might try, and if I let slip that I'm looking for something fun, he might slip too."

"Amanda, we've kept good cover tonight, but he's seen us together.Won't work."

"It will if we fight and I throw a drink on you?"

"May I remind you, Mrs. Stetson, about that last time you threw red wine on me.A bottle's worth, if I recall correctly.You were frustrated for 3 days trying to get that stain out." Lee teased."From some of the language that I heard coming from your laundry room, I didn't think you wanted to travel that route again."

"Fine.I'll throw your beer on you.That's much easier to get out."Amanda's eyes twinkled.

"We're not going to do this, Amanda. I do not want to follow you around tonight with a beer soaked shirt.I want to spend every moment tonight with you enjoying this boring routine stakeout." Lee smiled as he shook his head looking down at the tabletop."You know, stakeouts got so much more fun with you along.Remind me to thank Billy for putting the two of us together."

"You sure you want me to do that?This is from the man who spent hours trying to figure out how to talk Billy out of letting me 'tag along' on your assignments, or how to lose me?For the amount of thanks that I have to give, you might get jealous," Amanda smiled at her husband. 

"Me? Lose you?Jealous?Never happen, it's not my sty – wait a second.What's Fritz doing here?" Fritz the Cat had been a good friend of Lee's for years, was an extremely imaginative crook, and had helped him numerous times with routes in and out of places that regular individuals weren't normally in.Not the least of which was the Russian embassy a few months earlier when Lee had been injected with a fatal virus and the only person with the antidote was holed up inside and wasn't coming out. 

Lee knew that Fritz had great resources and incredible talent, but The Agency could always get their hands on blueprints of buildings, and Lee had always provided those when he needed Fritz's help."What could he be doing here?And he's getting pretty friendly with Williams…" 

Fritz and Williams shook hands, greeting each other as if old friends, and started walking out of the bar.Fritz took a quick look around at something Williams said, and looked in the direction of the agent team.He said something back to Williams and they headed out of the bar rather quickly. 

Lee threw a couple of bills on the table, grabbed Amanda's hand, and they quickly headed out as well.They managed to keep their eyes on the pair and make it to Lee's Corvette in time to see them pull out of the parking lot.After a couple of almost missed turns, the two agents caught sight of the two thieves again.Fritz and Williams went towards the waterfront, and headed into a warehouse.

Lee went in, warned Amanda to stay in the car (knowing full well that she probably wouldn't), and headed in.Then things went sour.Sims, one of Williams' other cohorts, had observed Lee coming in and he ended up getting caught with a gun placed to his head.Fritz had ended up in the same position shortly after going in, but was already tied up to boot.After about 10 impatient minutes in the 'vette, with no sign of her partner, Amanda couldn't wait anymore.That's when she took her gun from under the seat in the Corvette where she usually kept it, snuck in, shot Williams and promptly passed out.

Lee secured the situation, and went to the car to call for backup and medical assistance for Fritz and Amanda.Then he headed back to his partner to make sure she was ok.

"Amanda… Amanda, listen to me.Are you ok?Hey, come back to me, here," Lee was almost pleading when Amanda finally woke up.He wished greatly that he had been close enough to catch her in time to keep her from hitting the floor.He expected that she was going to have quite a headache when she came around."Lee… I—you – oooohhhhhhh." 

"It's ok, Amanda.You're fine.The cleanup crew is on their way, and I'm fine.You did great.You –"

"Oooooh" Amanda was shaking her head."No more.I don't want to talk about this.Oh Lee, I was so scared I was going to lose you.You didn't come out, and I knew I had my gun, and I know I should have waited in the car like you asked and, oohhh, gosh, my head hurts," Amanda put her head down on her knees.

"It's ok, Amanda.We're fine.Let's wait for the crew, Billy's coming, and I'll take you home."

"Debriefing…"

"No, I'll get Billy to postpone to tomorrow so that you can have a long bath and good night's sleep."

"Lee, take me home."She grabbed at Lee's shirt. 

"I will, we will…"

"To the apartment.I want to stay there tonight."

Amanda continued to hang on to Lee in shock, or perhaps a touch of desperation in knowing that he was still alive, until Agency backup arrived.Billy walked in to find Lee sitting up against a crate, and Amanda tightly curled up against him, his left arm around her.Her hands were clutching his shirt, and her head was buried in his shoulder.He looked troubled, as if he didn't know what to say to make her feel better, but didn't seem concerned that she was hanging on to him.Billy couldn't tell what was written on Amanda's face, but from her body language, it was a good bet that she was not going to be steady on two feet.

It hadn't taken much for Lee to convince Billy that Amanda would do better in briefing if she had had a chance to sleep off part of the shock she was in.Often, agents who had never used deadly force ended up spending the night in a room in the clinic and then getting up at the crack of dawn to run through the situation.Lee had done the same thing when he shot his first victim, and it had happened again 12 years earlier when Dorothy was shot – but she was a fellow agent, and someone who meant something to Lee.Although, even to this day, he was sometimes was still puzzled as to what exactly she meant to him.

Lee's thoughts settled on Oz for a short moment while he was getting settled in the interrogation rooms.How many times had he gone over the situation over and over, the smell of roses in his memory?Lee sighed.How many times had he sat on the other side of the table asking the questions of other agents, of enemies, of spies?Maybe it *was* time to settle down.Maybe it was time to take that desk job that Billy kept sending his way with the GG-18 pay raise.It would certainly help to convince Amanda to get out of the field if she wanted to, and it would allow him to settle down in Arlington with her and the boys.

A half hour later, he was done.He didn't have to go over much considering he and Amanda had kept decent logs of the tail, and that this was pretty cut and dry from Lee's perspective of what happened.Amanda was so much better at the reporting end of things than he was, but her influence had helped him from getting behind and spending hours in the Q-Bureau covering his fingers and reports in White-out.When it was all over, he headed back through observation and found Billy. 

"How's she doing?"

Billy shook his head."Lee, it's taken the last hour just to get her to start talking.She seemed her usual chipper self when you brought her in this morning, but as soon as she sat down in here, she just got very quiet.It's like she doesn't want to relive it."

Lee sighed.'Come on, Amanda,' he thought, 'you can do this.You have to.Talk it out, get it over with, and we can spend the next week trying to get you to forget about this.'Amanda straightened up in her chair at the moment, as if she had heard him, or knew he was there.She took a deep breath, a small sip of water, and then asked if she could just start at the beginning and talk in her own words.This was not an uncommon request of her, or of any agent.Sometimes it was better to get it all out in your own words on tape, without interruption, and then you were done with it.She started talking steadily for the next 25 minutes going over everything and ending with the shooting.Lee tried to watch impassively from a dark corner of the room, but Billy could almost tell what he was feeling.Scarecrow may have a great poker face, but Lee's body language told a different story. 

"Lee, why don't you head up to the Q-Bureau and start getting it straight?Amanda's almost done here, and then she's going straight to Pfaff's office."

Lee looked through the window for a moment, and then started out, when he heard the interrogator ask a question and turned to look. "Mrs. King, you did wonderfully, but I must ask – you didn't recount any feelings here, just facts, and that's not your usual style.Feelings are Pfaff's business, I suppose, but how did you feel with a gun to your partner's head?You are a relatively green agent, and do not normally carry firearms…"

Amanda stiffened up a bit at the question, and asked, "What does it matter?That is a question for Pfaff to ask, isn't it?"Billy and Lee looked at each other.Amanda was always one for talking about feelings, and this was definitely not in her character.The position of Lee with a gun to his head must have been too much for her to handle easily.Billy knew that this was not the first time that she had seen Lee with a gun to his head, but it was certainly the first time that she had a firearm at the same time to prevent something from happening.

"Billy, get her in with Pfaff, now.I thought about arguing the point with you again, but I think this time, you're right. I'll be upstairs."Lee headed up for the Q-Bureau and started clearing up the files that were still open.The background checks could be handed off to an agent in the bullpen to complete.Francine could take the other active files – there weren't many, and they were already summarized.Lee finished up some notes for the Williams report, set it in the pile for Francine, turned off the lights, and then headed for the couch. 

A good night's sleep hadn't done anything to prepare Amanda for the experience of debriefing, followed by a session with Pfaff.Especially when the man took the couch for himself, and sucked on that lollipop.It was better when he was on the ice cream – he didn't ask questions about how many licks on average it would take to finish the ice cream, as he had today, which had made Amanda clearly uncomfortable.

The fear and anger she had felt at seeing her partner with a gun to his head was normal.As was the fact that she still felt angry about it, and that fear was manifesting itself in her shaking hands as she recounted the incident in debriefing and with Dr. Pfaff.At one point, Amanda was completely in tears."He promised.I always said that I didn't want to shoot anyone, and he said I never had to.He said that that was a promise.And one that he intended to keep." 

"Mrs. King, you know in our line of work, that that is not a realistic promise.Sometimes use of force is necessary.You managed to avoid using a gun for 4 years.I'd say that that was an Agency record, but you've been civilian for 3 of those, and we don't like civilians to be armed."Dr. Pfaff paused for a moment to stuff his lollipop back in his mouth.When she looked up at him, he tried to smile around this stick, but failed miserably. 

He had encouraged her to continue thinking over the incident – was there anything that she could have done differently – what if she **had stayed in the car – to see that she was not in the wrong, as The Agency review board had already determined.She did what she needed to do in the line of duty.Now it was up to Amanda to reconcile herself to believing that.**

Pfaff had cleared her to leave The Agency with whatever time off Billy had thought appropriate in the situation.She had a standing invitation back to Pfaff's office any time while she was off, and they planned to schedule some time on her first day back to be sure that she would be ready to go back into the field.

Once she finished, she headed for Billy's office, and told him of what Pfaff had said.And admitted that yes, she had been scared."Lee's my partner, and my best friend, Mr. Melrose.I couldn't have continued with The Agency if something had happened to him.To be honest, I don't know if I could have continued living in the area."At this last statement, she had lowered her voice to almost a whisper.Amanda thought about all the times that he had knocked on her back door at night in order to update her on something that was going on.Sometimes those little visits weren't even necessary – he could have told her some of these things in the morning, but it was the beginning of their relationship whether they knew it or not.Sometimes he still came to the back door instead of ringing the front doorbell, mostly out of old habit.

Billy had told her that the both of them were going off active duty for the next 10 days and that the Q-Bureau was closed for the duration of their leave.Francine would take the active files, and he had sent Lee upstairs earlier to clear things up.Amanda nodded, not realizing how much insight into their relationship she had provided to Billy in her statements about Lee.She was more concerned with the thought that he would probably be ready to throw the typewriter out the window by now, and so she hurried upstairs. 

The one thing she really wanted to do was to take a nap on the couch in the office – it was only two hours after they had come in for debriefing, but Amanda felt like she had already been through a full day and then some and was dead on her feet.She thought it odd when she opened the door and found all but Lee's desk light off.Immediately she noticed the distinct piles of files on Lee's desk.She turned towards the couch, and saw that it was already occupied.Shaking her head, she smiled – Lee was better about not needing to sleep in a lighted room, especially when Amanda was staying over, but when he was particularly stressed out, you could guarantee he'd have a light on.She sank down next to the still form of her partner, and gently shook his shoulder."Lee…?"

"Hmmmm…"Lee woke slowly."Hey… how'd it go with Pfaff?"He sat up on the couch and made room for her to sit down.

"Fine.Though I'm still bugged by his insistence on staying on the couch and leaving his patients to wander the room aimlessly – sometimes I feel like the doctor when I'm in there.I feel better now, but I'm beat.How'd it go up here?Mr. Melrose said that he'd relegated you to finishing reports…" Amanda trailed off with a smile.Reports were not Lee's favorite things to do, and after almost 20 years in the business, he still wasn't very good with them.He couldn't type worth beans and they had a small box of Whiteout in the office as testament to that.

"The reports are done, typos and all.Most everything's going to Francine's desk, and the background checks will go down to the bullpen.They won't miss us while we're out.Did Billy tell you that he's giving us 10 days?"Lee wiggled his eyebrows at Amanda."What kind of trouble do you think we can get into in 10 days time?"

"Oh, Lee.I just want to stay home and be normal.I need to spend some time at home with Mother and the boys, and I know you'd like that too.They're your family too."Amanda reflected on her mother's insistence that Lee should make a formal commitment to one another soon, and she had already stated to Lee that he was family as far as she was concerned.If Mother only knew… 

"'Manda, I watched part of your debriefing.What was that at the end when they asked about how you felt…" Lee's voice trailed off.He knew he shouldn't be asking.He pressed on."It was almost robotic…"

"Lee, I'm fine, honey.That wasn't the time or place to go over it.I was scared, and angry, and didn't think too clearly.The shot was reactionary, and appropriate to the situation, and I'm fine.Even Pfaff says I'm fine. What's more important to me is that you're fine," she paused."What's going on with Fritz?I saw him when I came out of briefing – he looked like he'd been there all night."

"He was, after they worked on that graze would on his shoulder.He was trying to get more info on this guy and had planned to let me know about what was going on.It was pure coincidence that our paths crossed on this case.He's going to be fine.I'm vouching for him, and he'll be free to go by the end of the day.Speaking of the end of the day, why don't we go home and grab an early lunch?"Lee got up off the couch, grabbed his keys and the files, and they headed together down to the bullpen to drop off the files.

Lee dropped the active files on Francine's desk and headed for Billy's office to drop off the background checks.When he entered to drop off the files, Billy didn't even look up.He was staring at a stack of files that was centered in the middle of the desk."Billy, something wrong?"Amanda was standing back by the door.Billy motioned her to come in and shut the door. 

"Ok guys, I wasn't going to tell you this, but Internal Affairs has changed the background structure on us again.You guys are up for full checks this week."Billy put a hand up before anyone had a chance to interrupt, "It won't affect your time off at all, but I have to ask this before you're off.Is there anything that they're going to find in those files that's going to be an unpleasant little surprise for me?"With this statement he looked pointedly at Lee, remembering the little snafu a few years back with a pair of Russian acrobats, some illegally imported vodka, and the Russian embassy's limousine that had put Lee on the non-duty roster for 3 weeks, and Billy up to his ears in meetings, explanations, and paperwork. 

"I haven't done anything to bring embarrassment down on The Agency this year, Billy.There's nothing there that I'm not proud of.There are no acrobats, contortionists, or unaccounted-for weekends," Lee stated somewhat truthfully."By the way, why don't you ever ask Amanda that type of question?"

"Because Amanda hasn't done anything to bring complete embarrassment on The Agency or herself, nor have I had to make excuses for her behavior, unlike yourself, or complete tons of paperwork in triplicate because of something extra-curricular that she has done.But if it makes you happy…" Billy looked over at Amanda questioningly. 

"No, sir.I haven't been to the circus since I was a little girl... oh well, I did take the boys a few years ago when the international circus came to town and there were these wonderful acro-" Amanda stopped, looked at Billy who was smiling, and turned with a raised eyebrow to Lee, "Contortionists, Lee?" 

Lee blushed slightly, and look down.Then looked back up, flashing that megawatt smile."It was nothing, I was young, and they were… um… that was 7 years ago Amanda!"Amanda stood there with her arms crossed, eyebrow raised.That smile wasn't going to get him out of this one.And he would have some interesting explaining to do."I'll explain it to you later."

"You bet you will, or I might have to do my own background check on you, Stetson."Amanda smiled at Billy."Thank you again for the time off, Sir.And for suggesting that I talk with Dr. Pfaff.He's really very helpful."

"…When he isn't succumbing to that oral fixation of his…" Lee mumbled to himself. 

"What was that, Scarecrow?"

"Nothing, Billy.Hey, did you find out why Smyth had a tail on me and Amanda last night?"

"Nope.He's not talking to anyone this morning, least of all me.But I do know that they're not following you anymore."

Well, then, here's the files for the background checks, just assign them to any freshman agent – they're routine.Francine already has the active files.And we're off."Lee smiled and headed for the door.

"Enjoy.Oh, and Lee?Don't you two do anything I wouldn't do…" Billy smiled at his best team, while Lee looked over at him shaking his head.He was still laughing as he watched them walk out of the bullpen, Lee's hand at the small of Amanda's back as he had observed it so many times before.He was wondering when those two were going to go public with their relationship.There were so many little signs that they were attracted to one another; there had been so many little signs since they first started working together.And it wasn't as if others hadn't observed them.

Lee was still being gossiped about around the coffee pots, but it was standard practice now that Amanda's name came up in the same breath when his did.There were people who stated that you had to be blind or heartless to not notice the electricity between those two – something had to be going on.There also was a rumor that there was yet another woman in Stetson's life and it was that woman who was going to take him off the market.As to who this mystery lady was, no one knew.But if Amanda were to find out, even about the rumor, half of The Agency's best team would be in the hospital for at least a week – and everyone knew how much Stetson hated hospitals. 

Billy had known early on that making Scarecrow work with a civilian, and a divorced mother of two children at that, would have his lone agent take less chances, so as to prevent any harm from coming to her.And pushing her towards him alone had shown that there were significant changes in Lee's behavior.He didn't want to work with a partner ever again, but Amanda was always on his assignments.He was taking fewer chances, following the rules a little more closely, and wasn't looking like something the cat dragged in every morning.

Even his playboy ways had cooled down, even if the gossip around the coffee pots hadn't.The steno pool had gotten 3 new female employees – a blond, brunette, and a redhead, all young and single, all primed with stories about the famous Scarecrow, and all interested in meeting the dashing agent – and no one had seen him within 50 feet of the place in months.Amanda was handling all of his reports, and anything that needed to be brought down to the steno pool as overflow Amanda brought it herself.Billy often asked about that, and the response from Lee was that he trusted her more than the steno pool to put the reports together quickly, accurately (she was there for most of the incidents), and without typos.Billy prided himself on being able to take credit for all of these changes in Lee Stetson's behavior because of his pushing those two together.And he knew that because of that 'encouragement' that he could also take credit for being responsible for Lee and Amanda getting personally involved with one another.There was one thing, however, that Billy couldn't take credit for. 

Billy wasn't the one who picked this civilian out in the crowd as the person to deliver the music box to the man in the red hat on the train that morning.That was Scarecrow alone.He could have picked any one of a hundred people who were already boarding the train, but he found a housewife in her nightgown and an overcoat, and begged her to do it.And that she had saved his life that very same week.And despite the attempts to convince Billy that she wasn't a qualified agent, that she made lucky guesses, that she slowed him down, even Scarecrow had to admit that she'd turned into a pretty good agent, and a great partner besides.

Again, Billy wondered when his best team was going to let everyone else know that they were a little more than partners.And whether those troubling rumors about someone else in Stetson's life were true. 

To Be Continued…


	3. Default Chapter Title

Title:Consequences of our Actions

Disclosure: Warner Brothers Television Distribution and Shoot The Moon Productions owns these characters, as well as to the writers, and actors who created and portrayed them.I am just a humble author who wanted to breathe a little life back into them in an effort to be entertaining.

Timing and assumptions:Just after series ended.Obviously, no one knows about the marriage, Lee and Amanda are still sneaking around to get time together, and all those who were peeping toms into their lives want to know how it all ended up.Generous references to the past and the events of the 4th season… and occasionally you might see a character utter a familiar line…

Author:WhizGidget 

Written:Dec 2000-Jan 2001

Rating: PG-ish… probably more accurate as a G, but this allows for one's mind to wander…

Comments?I'd love to see 'em.Encouragement to continue?I'd love that too.Flames? Sure, why not, I need something to roast marshmallows by… 

* * *

Amanda was uncharacteristically quiet for most of the way to Lee's apartment.Lee decided to break the ice, and took a deep breath."Amanda, what would you think if I took a promotion to Administration?"

"Administration?What would you do there?You love being a field agent. A desk would drive you and everyone around you, nuts." Amanda looked over at her husband, puzzled at the question.

"Billy's had a promotion sitting on his desk for the better part of a year.He's thrown it away a few times because he didn't have anyone who would want to take it, but he's been offering it to me for the last 5 months.He's been telling me that I need to settle down and raise a family and the money that would come with this job would be enough to do it.I've thought about it – it means leaving the field, taking a desk job, not a 9 to 5, but closer to regular living hours."Lee sighed."There would be some down points too - it would probably also mean dissolving our partnership.You've worked really hard to get where you are in the field, and I don't want to make this decision without you because of how it would affect you but… well, do you want to come in from the field?Do you want me to?You could be at home for the boys, or find something else in The Agency, and I can come home every night.Be a normal married couple…"Lee's voice trailed off when he noticed that Amanda didn't seem to be paying attention to what he was saying."Amanda?" 

Amanda looked out the window."Is that what you want from me?"They had stopped at Lee's building."To stop doing everything that I worked so hard for?Lee, since we got married, and after California…" She trailed off remembering that their honeymoon was spent with her in the hospital recovering from getting shot."Lee, you haven't enlisted my help for anything since then.You refused to let me help out when Brand was trying to frame you and Francine, or when Harry and Christina needed help.I know that Billy was part of that, Agency rules about gunshot wounds and all, but that wasn't line of duty.That was a freak accident that happened on our time off.No one could have seen it coming."

At this point, Lee was looking down at his hands, loosely hanging on the bottom of the steering wheel.Amanda steeled herself for her next statement."You don't trust having me out in the field anymore, do you?You're shielding me from the field so that I don't get hurt.So you don't get hurt.That's what this is about, isn't it?So I can stay at home and be a normal Arlington housewife – just like I was supposed to be for Joe, and so that you don't feel any more pain in your life than you already have."Amanda said this matter-of-fact, and opened the car door.She got out of the car, and went inside the building. 

Lee stayed in the car for a moment, thinking.Voices from the past had often come back to haunt him, and it sounded like Amanda had a few of those voices coming back to her too.The last thing he wanted was for Amanda to draw a parallel between himself and Joe, but that's exactly what he had done.And she had made a good point – he didn't want any more pain in his life from the ones he loved, and whether he meant to or not, he caused pain to those who loved him.He got out of the car, and followed his wife into the building.

Amanda was sitting on the couch looking around her, when Lee entered the apartment.She got up and started walking around, trailing a hand over the furniture."Lee, take a close look at this apartment.How much of me is in this place?How much of it has changed since we got married?"She headed into the bedroom, and he followed."All that's here is a couple of sets of clothes for me, a robe, a toothbrush and some makeup, and a box hidden in a compartment in your dresser where we hide our wedding rings when we go to work.If we're lucky, we get to spend about one night every couple of weeks together, and we kiss each other goodnight on the steps of my house so you can drive back here and we both go to bed alone.I could walk out of this apartment now with a shopping bag and no one would ever know I had been here."

"I would.I would know, I could still smell your perfume.I would know exactly where my car keys were the last time I put them down on the desk in the bedroom.I wouldn't have any sugar in the house for your coffee.I wouldn't see your robe hanging next to mine in the closet.I'd know that your mother wasn't finding my socks in the washing machine at your house.I'd never be able to sleep because I would be able to smell your shampoo in the pillows and my robe.I wouldn't have that incredible feeling of belonging when you look at me and tell me that you love me.I would miss you."Lee stopped.His wife was rubbing off on him – she was the one who usually rambled on, and he smiled at this thought.Amanda didn't think any of this was amusing, however. 

"Lee, take me to my house.I have things to do."Her voice sounded cold. 

"Do you want some help?Some company?"

"No.Just a ride."Amanda looked away."…I need some time alone to think, too."

"Think about what?"

"This. Us."As Amanda said this, she swept her hand around the living room."Maybe I shouldn't be working at The Agency; maybe I should never have called you back about that package," Amanda's voice shook."Maybe we rushed this.We don't know anything about each other's everyday lives, and we see each other about as often as if we were having a fling.Maybe the marriage wasn't a good –"

"Maybe nothing.This **IS right.I love you, Amanda Stetson. There's no changing that.I don't regret anything about the last 4 years.Not one second of it.I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and-" Lee ran his hands through his hair, "Amanda, don't do this to us."He looked towards his troubled wife who was staring at her shoes. **

"Lee, take me home."She didn't look at him as she headed for the door.

* * *

She walked into her house, feeling more than a little lost, and wandered from room to room, straightening a thing here, or looking at a picture or out the window.Lee hadn't spoken the entire way to her house, and every time she looked over at him, she could see his jaw muscles tense and relax.She didn't have the courage to say anything other than a quick 'thank you' when she got out of the car, and ran for the front door of the house without looking back.

This was the house that she and Joe had bought so many years ago.Where she had raised her boys, and lived with her mother.Where she had spent years watching her boys grow, and growing as a person herself.Every part of the house had something about her, her mother and her sons in it.And not one visible sign of her husband was anywhere.Even the things she did have were hidden in the back of her closet where her mother would never see them, and as she said in Lee's apartment, he could walk out of here with a shopping bag, and no one would ever be the wiser.Except she would know every time she went to sleep and caught the smell of his aftershave in the pillows on her bed.

She thought back to a conversation she had had with her mother shortly after it had been revealed that she and Lee were actively seeing each other.Dotty had asked her what she knew about his man.She had replied, almost to herself, "Sometimes I ask myself that same thing".This statement had not been lost on Dotty; she suggested making a list of everything she knew.Everything she liked, everything that bothered her.Perhaps the pros would outweigh the cons.If she only knew the trouble a list of things that bothered Lee about her had caused.She shook her head.6 pages, what was he thinking?But this was part of the point she was trying to make – if he could make a 6 page list of things to discuss, then maybe they needed more than a day or two stolen together to make their marriage work.Or maybe their relationship was so foreign: he had been an international spy and ladies man for so many years; she was a divorced woman supporting two kids, her mother, and a mortgage payment.What could they possibly have in common to make a commitment like marriage work? 

Amanda had heard the rumors that had been floating around The Agency. A few of those were concerned with why the infamous Lee Stetson had been conspicuously absent from the social rosters lately. He'd been coming in close to on time for meetings and such, and not looking as haggard as he used to. In fact, some days he had even been smiling with a spring in his step. A very few people who hated the gossip thought that Amanda's constant optimism was finally rubbing off on the cynical agent. Some rumors had Lee and Amanda seeing each other on the sly. But a lot of those were steno pool starters - Lee was always trying out one thing or another and had a different woman every week. This week's flavor was a divorced housewife, if you listened to them. 

Some of the field agents in their own section had started rumors that all that time off that Billy Melrose gave them off was because Lee and Amanda were running off together for romantic getaways. Even Mrs. Marsten thought that there was something going on in the Q-Bureau for all the yelling, laughing, and the telltale sound of the bolt on that door upstairs. 

Then there were those persistent rumors that had been around since they started sneaking around to see each other. The ones that had Lee seeing someone outside The Agency. According to the coffee talk, this lady was definitely not an agent, or anyone who had anything to do with The Agency. Lee was definitely being secretive when it came to his personal life all of a sudden, and everyone wanted to know who had taken Scarecrow off the market. And he was definitely off the market according to the gristmill. He didn't go near any of the new agent recruits, and Embassy parties had gone later and later into the night, but Stetson would show up, make whatever contact he needed, and then leave immediately, rather than stick around and make new female friends. And he wasn't bringing anyone to these parties except Amanda – who always went with him to these things.But whoever it was, they weren't showing up in the Washington's who's who gossip columns or society pages, and they weren't showing up at any of the high profile restaurants that he used to frequent.Lee was keeping this very low profile.Many fellow agents had tried to get him to slip up, but he wasn't even giving up as little as a first name.

Most nights after those Embassy parties, she and Lee went their separate (and lonely) ways for the night.In the past couple of months, they had spent maybe 3 nights together, and while Lee usually called Amanda when he knew the house would be quiet so that he could say goodnight, she still wondered what he did every night in that quiet apartment.When they started seeing each other, she wondered if those rumors about someone outside The Agency were true.After their engagement and wedding, the rumors continued, and Amanda did her best to ignore them, but she sometimes had that niggling little feeling that there might be some truth to them.And, as usual, she was right. 

As she walked through the house, she realized she was heading for the back door – all those times Lee had knocked softly, or peeked in the kitchen window behind the sink, or picked the lock and surprised her when she was home alone.Lee sometimes still came around to the back door, instead of the front, because it was what he was accustomed to.Mother and the boys thought it was a little strange, but otherwise he was a great guy, and made Amanda happy, so what did it matter what door he came in?So many good memories related to that back door, yet there was so little present in the house when it came to him being part of the family. 

Family.That's what it was all about.Lee hadn't had much of a family growing up, just an emotionally distant uncle who was a Colonel raising him on a military base.His parents had been killed when he was 5.Agents just like him.Her boys had suffered the loss of a parent too – Joe was never around after the divorce, running around to all corners of the world, trying to save it.The boys would fill a void in Lee's life, just as he would fill a place in theirs.He already had a place in their lives – they played basketball together in the driveway, and had helped them with a couple of research projects for school.Philip had wormed his way into the Corvette a couple of times when Lee took it out to run the track.Lee had given Jaime his first camera, and now her youngest son was already taking pictures like a professional.Amanda wondered if part of his question about the promotion was prompted by his need for family, or from his need to protect her.She sighed; it was probably a bit of both.

She remembered a conversation they had had about their relationship shortly after they had gotten engaged.'This is it, Amanda.This is forever,' he had said.'Forever is a long time, Lee,' she had kidded him back.'Not long enough for me.'His reply had been stated very quietly and there was no doubting the seriousness of the intentions behind his words.

She'd been lost in her thoughts for the better part of an hour, when suddenly, she heard a quiet creak from the hinges in the back door, and looked up to see Lee ducking his head around the corner."Is it ok if I come in?"

"I thought you left."

"To do what?We're off the duty roster, and I'd just be going back to a lonely, empty apartment.I stayed sitting in the gazebo, thinking about you, and I didn't know what else to do, so I came to the door.I know you wanted some time alone, but would you mind spending your time alone with my time alone?"Lee just stood there, leaning against the doorjamb; hands in pockets, looking worried. 

"Come on in, Scarecrow," Amanda said resignedly."Go sit down, and I'll make some coffee and a sandwich or two." 

"We could go out for lunch, Amanda, you don't have to go through the troub-" Lee cut himself off at the sight of Amanda pulling the bread and cold cuts out of the refrigerator.She needed something to do, and she didn't look like she was in shape to go anywhere.He wasn't looking forward to the conversation that they were about to have, but someone had to start it."Amanda, did you really mean what you said about our marriage not being a good idea?"

Amanda knew that this question was going to be asked, but she but didn't expect it so soon."I don't know Lee.I'm not sure about anything anymore.Did you mean all of those things on that list you made?Some of those things on the list are so petty – and they've been part of me for years.But you don't know my daily habits, and I don't know yours.And we could pick at each other for months, or we might not know most of these things for months or years as we live our lives apart from each other.If I wanted a marriage where I didn't see my husband every night, I could have stayed married to Joe and ended up with the same result.I want to be able to wake up in the mornings with you here, and go to bed with you at night.I want you to be here for the boys, and to help with the chores, and all the other domestic things that you've been allergic to all these years.But with our jobs, security clearances, reputations, all those 'bad guys' out there who would want revenge on you or us, is it worth it to stay married?When it seems that we're doomed to sneak around to see each other outside of work, the fact that we're married doesn't seem to be an important factor at all."Amanda took a deep breath."Maybe we should just get an annulment, and forget about the whole thing."

"Amanda, do you have rocks in your brain?"Lee said this as he was looking into his coffee.He really didn't want to see Amanda's face when he asked that question, and it probably was a good idea, as he would have been a dead man otherwise."I would not have asked you to marry me if I wanted to just get an annulment a few months later.Actually, I think I was the one with the rocks in my brain when I suggested that we hide our marriage from the world.Anything could happen at any time.I could walk out of this house today and get hit by the next ice cream truck that passes by.I don't want to keep our lives apart anymore either, Amanda.I want to come clean.I want us to tell your family, tell The Agency, get out of the field, and be able to come home to our family."Lee looked up to watch Amanda process this piece of information."I'm not asking you to stay at home and raise lots of little kids like Joe expected you to, and I apologize for what I said earlier about coming home to you every night, but that's what I want.No more travel, no more overnight stakeouts, no more fieldwork.No more going home to our separate living arrangements at night."

He walked around the island to tip Amanda's chin up so that he could look her in the eye."Amanda Stetson, I want to find out everything there is to know about you.I know the usual facts:sugar only in the coffee, and that you fiddle with your necklace when you're thinking or nervous," at this statement, Amanda dropped her hand from same necklace as she blushed slightly, "that little spot on your neck that's ticklish.I want to know about your eye shadow and how you fold laundry, and to see the chaos here in the mornings when the boys are heading for school, and all the other things that are part of your regular routine.Even after all the nights that we've spent together undercover, you didn't know until recently that I sing when I dry my hair in the mornings.There are lots more things about me that you probably don't know either, and you deserve to know.And I deserve to know how I would handle all this too."At this, he could see a small tear on the edge of Amanda's right eye and brushed it away with a kiss.She sighed and relaxed against him as he pulled her into his arms and held her.

"Hmmmmmmm…" Amanda snuggled into Lee's embrace with her cheek against his shoulder."Lee?How are we going to handle this with our co-workers?What are we going to tell Billy?Or worse, how do we explain ourselves to Dr. Smyth?"  
  


"You know, Amanda, those security checks they're doing are going to find something in common about us."Amanda looked up at him quizzically, thinking he was doing one of his infamous changes of subject.He drew his hand out of his pocket, with a familiar velvet box.Recognition, and then shock, spread across her face.

"Put these on.If we're going to spend any time together in the next few days, I want it to be as Mr. & Mrs. Stetson."She reached for his hands, no longer concealed in a pocket – he was wearing his wedding band, and she hadn't noticed it in all the time he had been there.She looked up questioningly with her head cocked slightly to the side."I put it on when I went in the bedroom before we left the apartment.I grabbed yours too.I didn't plan this, but if I came in, I wanted to have them for you."She carefully pulled out the slim band, and diamond ring and slid them on her hand.They felt comfortable there, like they belonged.Which, unbeknownst to the world, they did.

But it would not be a secret for much longer.They both knew this, and sat down to eat lunch, talk about the future and the consequences of their actions. 

* * *

Two hours later, they were cuddled up on the couch, not caring if Amanda's mother came home from wherever it was she was, watching an old movie and sharing a bowl of popcorn.Just when Lee ducked his head over to kiss her, the doorbell rang.He groaned."What is it about me kissing my wife that prompts the outside world to interrupt us?

"Stetson, I plan on ignoring it if you will," she smiled with a twinkle in her eye.

As he leaned in again, the doorbell rang insistently, and someone started pounding on the door."We can't ignore this that easily."

"You're right, and it could be Mother – she could have forgotten her keys again."

Amanda got up and went to the door.Lee called back to her, "Send whoever it is away, it can't be that important, and I want to spend some quality time with you."

"Lee, Billy's here."Amanda looked nervous.Lee sat up on the couch from his comfortable sprawled out position, and knocked the popcorn over.How much of that did Billy happen to hear?

"Billy, what's going on?I thought we were off active duty.We're not going back in until our leave is over, so unless this is a purely social call, go away."

"I can't, Scarecrow, not this time."Billy looked very tired."I went over to your place first, but when you weren't there, I figured you must be here.Scarecrow, when I asked you earlier if there was anything that would embarrass The Agency, I also meant anything that you were trying to hide in your personal life."

"And since when is my personal life any business of The Agency's?Like I told you earlier, I haven't done anything that I am not proud of since the last check."Lee set his mouth in a grim line and looked back at Billy defiantly.

"No elaborate covers that you might have forgotten to wipe away, maybe?"

"No.You've gotten every one of our cover assignment envelopes back, personally, from me, with everything else that goes along with it."

"Lee, Internal Affairs just called me about something they found on your record.You might want to come clean before I have to say it out loud." 

" I have nothing to hide.Not from anyone.Especially Amanda."

"Amanda, you might want to sit down.Preferably, not next to Lee after what I have to say."Billy steered her over to another chair across the room.He was afraid after what he had to say, that the female member of his best team would either be hurt and crying or trying to throttle her partner.Billy knew that Lee had quite a reputation – but Billy had thought that to be in the past.And if what he had to say were true, then Billy would lose faith in his best agent.Lee would have been up to his old tricks again, and would be sure to be hiding it, especially from Amanda, if she was his latest interest.And from the way Lee was acting, Billy had to assume the worst. 'I guess those rumors were true,' thought Billy sadly.

"You know what he's talking about Lee." Amanda said this as a statement, not a question, but Billy missed the knowing tone in her voice.

"Yeah.You might as well go ahead and say it Billy."Lee looked up with a twinkle in his eye, and a slight smile on his face.This was not how he expected the news to come out.

"Amanda, I'm sorry you had to learn this in this way.Lee is much more of an emotional coward than I gave him credit for.I've suspected for some time that you two are involved on a more personal level, although how involved, I'm not sure I want to know after the information that I received today.IA found a marriage license today registered to Lee, Amanda.They haven't told me who the other party is, and I didn't want to know.I figured after everything we've been through, that Lee would tell me himself.Actually, I figured after all this time, and your influence, that he wouldn't be up to his old tricks again hiding one girlfriend from another."

Billy looked at Amanda who had her head down on her crossed arms."Are you ok?"She nodded.Billy turned towards Lee. "And Scarecrow, I heard that quality time comment, so what's going on?I've heard rumors about somebody serious in your life."At this statement, Amanda stiffened slightly, but kept her head on her arms, shaking slightly."I also know that you and Amanda are personally attached to one another." Billy thought for a moment that he heard a giggle from her, but dismissed it as sobbing as he continued, "How could you make a commitment like this and not tell any of us?Who is she?"

Billy thought he heard Amanda mumble something into her arms, and turned to ask her to repeat it.He wasn't sure, but thought he heard her say that she knew about the rumors and that they were true.He was going to ask her to life her head and say it again, but Lee interrupted his train of thought. 

"Billy, you should have had Administration cross check the date of the license against Amanda's name.They'll find the same license.In the same county, signed by the same Justice of the Peace.That's who the mysterious 'she' is.And no, it's not a cover.We didn't tell anyone because for one, we wanted to protect our family, and for two, it's not the business of anyone at The Agency."

"Yes, Mr. Melrose.It's true.We got married in February."Her head on her arms muffled Amanda's voice, but she was speaking a little more loudly now and it was clear that she was giggling. 

Billy thought for a few seconds.This was not what he was expecting to hear."Lee, Amanda.I know that that virus was pretty significant for you both.But that was no reason to jump into –"

"We didn't jump.Lee asked me to marry him when Birol caught us.We'd been involved for a while by then.And Lee asking when he had wasn't an impulse either.Mr. Melrose, please believe that.I know The Agency has rules against this, and Dr. Smyth will probably have my head, or my job, but this was what we wanted."Amanda got up and walked over to the couch.She grabbed Lee's hand, and held it tightly as she smiled.Whatever was found, they had agreed earlier when discussing the security checks, they would go through it together.No denials, no backing down.They were partners in their careers, and in their lives.And partners backed each other up, no matter what. 

"Billy, we talked about this today – we both knew the checks would come up clean except for this, and we are going to face the consequences, but we didn't expect for this to pop up so quickly.I wanted to call you and invite you out for dinner tonight to break the news."

Lee grinned as boyishly as if he were still in high school headed for the prom with his first sweetheart.Amanda was blushing lightly, but was looking at Lee as if he were the most important person in her life, which he probably was.Billy sat down in the chair that Amanda had previously been sitting in.He looked from one agent to the other, as they held each other's hands and smiled as if they're being together was the most natural thing in the world.Billy had waited to hear that they were involved for so long, but now that he was faced with the truth, he was speechless. 

Lee broke the silence."By the way, Billy, how *did* you know that Amanda and I were involved?We didn't tell anyone.We didn't tell her family that long ago that we're seeing each other, and they don't know anyone at The Agency?"Lee thought for a moment."Just how long did Dr. Smyth have critters in my apartment?"

"Lee, I don't know.The ones you found today were the first that I had heard of.As for knowing about the two of you, well, the rumor mill has been working overtime when it comes to you and Amanda, and I'm not your Section Chief for nothing.You know as well as I do in our business we need to be able to read people's emotions and whether they're hiding something.When it came to the two of you, that was easy."

Amanda had been silent, watching Lee and Billy talking.Lee knew she was thinking about something and squeezed her hand.She then spoke up."Sir, you may be able to read people's emotions, but you've been behind a desk for too long.You've been in the house for the last 10 minutes and didn't notice that we're ***both* wearing matching wedding bands."Lee smiled at his wife, and kissed her.**

* * *

To Be Continued…


	4. Default Chapter Title

Title:Consequences of our Actions

Disclosure: Warner Brothers Television Distribution and Shoot The Moon Productions owns these characters, as well as to the writers, and actors who created and portrayed them.I am just a humble author who wanted to breathe a little life back into them in an effort to be entertaining.

Timing and assumptions:Just after series ended.Obviously, no one knows about the marriage, Lee and Amanda are still sneaking around to get time together, and all those who were peeping toms into their lives want to know how it all ended up.Generous references to the past and the events of the 4th season… and occasionally you might see a character utter a familiar line…

Author:WhizGidget 

Written:Dec 2000-Jan 2001

Rating: PG-ish… probably more accurate as a G, but this allows for one's mind to wander…

Comments?I'd love to see 'em.Encouragement to continue?I'd love that too.Flames? Sure, why not, I need something to roast marshmallows by…

* * *

After they had explained the circumstances of why they decided to hide their marital status, and when the wedding had actually taken place, Billy had seemed to be a little more calm and rational about the whole situation.That didn't, however, get them off the hook with Smyth.

Billy was about to review reports and had requested Francine's assistance when his phone rang and it had been McFarland from IA.He was requested verification on the marital status on both of his agents in the Q-Bureau."Divorced for Mrs. King, hopelessly single for Stetson," had been Billy's reply.Billy expected the laugh that he got from McFarland about Lee's status, but hadn't expected the reply, "Not anymore, he's not. In fact-" and that was the last that Billy heard as he had slammed down the phone.Francine looked up and asked what IA had found that Lee had done now.Billy wasn't the only one who was going to get an unexpected reply that afternoon.Francine went into immediate shock when he muttered, "He got married," as he grabbed his jacket and headed out the door.

Both Lee and Amanda started laughing at Billy's supposition that Francine was probably still sitting in his office in shock.He hadn't looked back into his office or the bullpen after he left, and wouldn't have spoken to anyone, if Dr. Smyth hadn't stepped in his way.Smyth requested, in his usual overbearingly polite way, that "Stetson and the housewife" have a meeting with him and Billy first thing tomorrow morning.Oh, and to wish them a good afternoon when he sees them.Silence settled around the trio, as they pondered that thought.No good would come out of that meeting, and they all knew it.

Billy stood to leave; he had to go make sure that Francine was o.k.He wasn't completely sure that she had heard what he said, but wanted to explain the whole truth before the rumor mills went into overdrive.

After he left, the house was quiet for a few minutes, and Amanda asked, "Well, what do we do now?"

"Now, *I* go back to my lonely apartment, pack a bag, and come over here so that we can tell your mother and Philip and Jaime the truth about our relationship."

"Not so fast, big fella.What exactly are we going to tell them?That we kept our marriage a secret for no reason for almost 5 months?How do we explain that?"

"By coming clean about our jobs."

"Which we may not have tomorrow morning."Amanda sat down on the couch next to Lee."We can wait one more night.Tomorrow we'll know what Smyth wants to do to us, and then we can take it from there.Please?"She looked up at Lee with slightly widened eyes.She could do no wrong, or ask for the world and he'd give it to her when she looked at him like that.

"Ok.One more night."Lee was struck with a thought."Listen, Amanda, that's a great idea.I can head home, clean up the apartment a bit, and pack a bunch of clothes up for moving here."

"Do you need help?"

"No, that's ok.I remember the last time you helped me clean out my closets.I think I can handle this.I have a few errands to run too – and some outside contacts to make before they hear of the news secondhand.T.P. would never forgive us."Lee nodded at Amanda to further make his point as he made this last statement.

After driving a discreet distance from the house, Lee picked up the phone in the Corvette, and made a quick phone call."Can you meet me at my place, now?We really need to talk.Great.Thanks."

* * *

Amanda's mind remained pre-occupied for the better part of the rest of the day.Dotty couldn't figure out what was going on with her daughter, and this was the first night in weeks that Lee Stetson wasn't present in the kitchen, or the den, or the family room, or in the backyard with the boys.Dotty stopped at this last thought.He tried so hard with the boys and they had come around to liking him with no problems.Both Philip and Jaime had said that they wouldn't mind having Lee around on a permanent basis.So, when was he going to make a permanent commitment to Amanda?

Dotty tried to pry information as to what Lee was up to, but Amanda was casually vague about it.She seemed a little down, so Dotty started scheming.She asked Philip to call over to Lee's place and invite him over for dinner as a surprise while she kept Amanda busy in the garden.Goodness knows, that garden needed more work from the neighbor's dogs and the kids running through their backyard.It was a wonder that there was even grass back there.

Philip picked up the phone in the den and dialed Lee's number from memory.Philip and Lee had hit it off right from the first time they were introduced, and he had given the boys his phone number in case they ever needed someone to talk to that wasn't their mom or grandma.Philip had really appreciated it, and had called Lee a couple of times when it came to a problem with a girl at school, but they hadn't let on to Amanda.She thought her oldest son to still be to young to worry about girls.

The phone in Lee's apartment rang while he was in the kitchen making coffee, and his guest, who had been a frequent visitor, was polite and answered the phone.Thus, Philip was not expecting to hear the female voice that answered, "Stetson residence?"He was silent, not knowing what to say when the woman said, "Hello? Is anyone there?"Philip put the phone back down softly into the cradle.This was not something that Mom needed to know in her present mood, and not something for Grandma to start in on considering she was always pestering Lee as to when he was going to ask his mother to marry him.Lee had always artfully dodged answering the question either by changing the subject or laughing.Philip now thought he knew why.When Grandma asked, he would simply say that there was no answer.That would solve the problem for tonight. 

But that wasn't going to solve Lee's problem with Philip when next they saw each other. 

* * *

Lee picked Amanda up the next morning to head for work, and found that she, unlike him, had slept extraordinarily well.She had mentioned that she did wake up at one point because she had had a dream, well a nightmare, really, about what had happened in that warehouse.She had stayed awake to think about whether or not she could have done anything different, as Dr. Pfaff had suggested, and had come up blank.Having reasoned that out, she fell back to sleep quickly, and assured Lee that there was nothing to worry about in that aspect.She was a little worried about Philip – he seemed a little distant this morning.Instead of the usual banter between Lee and Philip, her oldest son had barely acknowledged him, and left the house without saying goodbye.Jaime didn't know what was going on with Philip's attitude either, just that he'd been that way since last night.

When they reached The Agency, Lee and Amanda walked into the noisy bullpen, and all conversation immediately stopped.They weren't doing anything out of the ordinary, but both agents became extremely self-conscious to the fact that they were the cause of the silence.Everyone had noticed Francine yesterday sitting in Billy's office in shock, but no one had dared approach while Billy was gone.She had finally come out shortly after his return, looking a little dazed, and even this morning, she still seemed rather preoccupied with the news.It must have had to do with the rumors that everyone had heard – Lee and Amanda were going to be removed from service, and it had to do with either the two of them having a personal relationship, or Lee getting married.No one was sure whether one rumor had to do with the other.

The two agents headed straight for Billy's office, where the door was waiting open for them.Billy had noticed the silence before noticing what had caused it, and came to stand in the doorway.He barked, "Back to work, people!"A few agents jumped when he slammed the door behind Lee, and immediately started closing the blinds.

Almost immediately, Lee set to the task of wearing a line in the usual place in the carpet, while firing off unanswerable questions regarding their partnership, and Billy kept telling him to sit down.Finally, Amanda couldn't take it anymore, stood up, grabbed her husband's arm, and asked him quietly to stop.Lee looked at her, nodded, and sat down next to her.Billy looked shocked at the result of her request.All she did was touch his arm, and he looked like he would do anything in the world for her.Yes, this was going to be a good thing for Scarecrow to settle down and be a family man.And if Smyth did anything to break up this team, The Agency would never be the same.

Just the simple fact that Lee Stetson had gotten married had been too much for Francine to handle when Billy had dropped the info into her lap before heading to find Lee and Amanda, and she had stayed seated in his office the entire time he had been gone.She had barely recovered from her shock when Billy showed up and explained that what she had heard him say was true, with one additional detail: who he had married.Amanda.That pretty much sent Francine's mind into overload, and she sat on the couch with a dazed look on her face – she was again sitting in Billy's office in much the same state that she was the previous day, and asking herself a lot of the same questions.It was shocking enough that Lee had started a relationship with the housewife, but **married her?And even more shocking yet was the fact that they had been married for the better part of a year?And it wasn't a cover?And… "Ugh," she groaned, unnoticed by the others in the office.Her head hurt, and Stetson wasn't helping matters with the pacing and the incessant questions.**

Even in her shocked state, however, it hadn't been lost on Francine that Amanda had managed to get Lee to stop pacing with just a touch and a couple of quiet words.And that sent her mind reeling even more. 

"Billy, Smyth's going to break us up, isn't he?That's the master plan that he has, isn't it?"Lee's questions didn't tame down once he sat, but at least he wasn't causing the others in the room to be so damn dizzy.

"I don't know, Lee.Smyth's never liked Amanda very much; he likes you even less.It's possible that the very thing you want – your partnership– will have to dissolve at his whim.Or perhaps one, or both, of you will be forced to resign.But we'll just have to wait and see – I don't have the foggiest idea what he has planned."Billy sighed.He hoped that wasn't what Smyth had planned.If Amanda had to leave (which was the most likely possibility because of her short official tenure with The Agency), Scarecrow would probably go back to being partner less, and driving anyone crazy who was partnered with him for even a short time.

"Mr. Melrose, we know Dr. Smyth hates me, and he'll have my job…" Amanda stopped at the sound of the door opening, and Dr. Smyth walked into the room as if on cue.

"Well, well, Georgie Porgie, pudding and pie, Scarecrow kissed the girls and made them cry.I bet there are some girls crying today, Scarecrow.No offense Mrs. King.I hear that Scarecrow danced down the yellow brick road to move into your house.And if I remember the story correctly, the Scarecrow didn't have a brain, so I guess it makes sense that he would lose his head."Dr. Smyth puffed on his ever-present cigarette with a self-satisfied smile on his face."The two of you were too good to be true, and the rumors were just too juicy.I was sure that something would come out from listening in to your apartment, Scarecrow, but I suppose that IA background checks are more effective than having agents listen to you two in Scarecrow's apartment every other night." 

Amanda looked over at Lee.'What does he mean by every other night,' she wondered.Lee stared at Smyth, with an expressionless face and Amanda could see the muscle in his jaw twitching.Billy held the same position as Lee – twin volcanoes ready to blow. 

Lee managed a little more self-restraint than his boss."Dr. Smyth!What do you mean in bugging my best team of field agents!What was there to gain in this exercise?And forcing the IA checks when they're unnecessary is out of line!"The background noise from the bullpen went silent at hearing Billy's raised voice.

"Just keeping an eye on the best interests of this Agency.You know as well as I do that it can lead to a compromising situation if agents get involved on a personal level.It's too bad that you had to compromise your career, King, you were turning out to be a pretty good agent.Terrible shame that you're not going to be able to continue with The Agency.As for you, Stetson, you're suspended until further notice, with the likelihood to be out of a job too.I expect someone – "with this he looked pointedly at Billy"- will find a way to keep you on the job, but there's no hope for your wife.Congratulations, forgive me for not sending a gift, but I wasn't invited to the nuptials.Sayonara, sweethearts."

With that Smyth walked out of the office, and before he closed the door he stood looking out into the bullpen.Everyone out there quickly went back to work.Lee looked helplessly at Billy."Billy, he can't do this.Amanda's my partner – she has been for the better part of the last 4 years.Whether anyone liked to admit it or not." He looked from Billy to Amanda."I'm sorry, 'Manda.There was nothing I could do, I wanted to hide the paperwork, but…"His voice trailed off. 

"I know, Lee.The only way to hide this whole thing would have been to marry under an assumed name, and then it wouldn't be real.I knew it was risky, and that we could have been found out.It's ok, sweetheart.Dr. Smyth would have found a way to be rid of me eventually."She smiled weakly."Mr. Melrose, Sir?Has Dr. Smyth seen anyone about his preoccupation with twisting nursery rhymes or did he have a twisted childhood?"

Billy and Lee both turned to stare at Amanda.Francine was still sitting on the sofa trying to digest everything that was happening."I'm sorry, Mr. Melrose. I couldn't resist, but he's always talking in circles referencing nursery rhymes, and well…" Amanda's voice trailed off.

Billy shook his head slightly as he addressed the senior agent of the team."Lee, if you had at least told me that it was this serious, I might have been able to do something.I could have covered for you, or delayed checks, smothered paperwork for a while.But how could let this Agency, or me for that matter, find out via a background check?"Billy's voice was starting to rise.

"Smyth's probably known about us for a while, with those bugs," Lee stated as he stood to start pacing again.

"All the more reason that you should have kept me in the loop!" Billy roared.

At this, Francine woke up from her trance in a stormy mood."How could you?How could you keep this from us?We're your friends!I mean it's not like anybody didn't know about you two!!"Francine's voice rose with each statement."We all heard the rumors around the office.You'd have to be an idiot not to notice it!"

Lee and Amanda turned to stare at Francine and then turned to look at each other.How could anyone have known?Had they been spotted somewhere together?Billy smiled, shaking his head.These two may be his best team of agents, but they certainly were stupid when it came to hiding their feelings for one another.

"What Francine means, I think, is that it got to be pretty obvious to anyone who paid attention to the two of you that you were involved.Lee, you've become so much more protective of Amanda—" 

"She's my partner.Before that she was civilian auxiliary.What was I supposed to do, leave her—"

"Scarecrow, let me finish," Billy roared.Lee took a deep breath, looked down, and sat back down."I was going to say that you've become even more protective of Amanda even after she joined the training programs and came on full time.You'd have to be blind to see how you react when she comes into a room… and let's not get started on the Q-Bureau."Billy stared Lee down, who immediately started turning red around the collar. 

"For the amount of times I've almost caught you two," Francine teased."Lee, how could you be so dense?You give new meaning to the words 'dumb blonde'.How long has it been since we last saw you drag in looking for aspirin and coffee after a late night?Now, half the time you walk in with a smile on your face, and the other half you walk in looking like you haven't slept, but you see Amanda and you're immediately walking on clouds.And you'd think you would have figured that we knew something was going on after all those warnings when you had to cozy back up to Elisa Danton."

"What do you mean?I thought you guys were just trying to warn me off of her and her 'intentions'?"Lee looked confused. 

"We were," Billy stated.

"And we were trying to protect Amanda," Francine continued.At mention of her name, Amanda looked up at Francine with great interest."I know.I know I warned you about getting involved with Lee, and we may not have gotten to be good friends, but I know of where I speak.Lee, I've seen enough of your broken hearts in the steno pool, and I didn't want to see your team break up after you stomped on Amanda's heart with Elisa and expected things to be the same.She deserves better than that."Francine's intent hung in the air:Amanda deserved better than the Playboy version of Lee Stetson.

"But I wouldn't—"

"But they didn't know that," Amanda quietly interrupted."They didn't know that we were involved.Only we knew that.Only I knew that you'd given up those black books almost two years ago.And I know how much pressure Elisa was putting on you."

"Amanda, you don't know the half—"

"Two years ago!"Francine shrieked.Amanda simply nodded. 

"She does, Lee," Billy said."I told her about Elisa cozying up to me to try and find out who had you wrapped around their little finger, because she wasn't getting anywhere as fast as she would have liked.And Lee, we all remember that you had quite the reputation following you around.Still do, if you listen to the rumor mill."

"Don't remind me."Lee looked almost stricken at that comment.

"What I don't understand, are those rumors about you and Amanda, and then the rumor that you were going permanently off the market.We know they're both true, but why didn't they cross each other?"Billy thought about adding that last rumor about someone outside The Agency as an afterthought, but dropped it thinking that there was mis-information involved.

"Billy, you're so out of the gossip loop."Francine smiled. "That rumor about Lee being off the market was due to the first bit about him and Amanda.From the way they act around each other, and the way he's settled down – even taking Amanda on as his partner last year?Come on, this was a foregone conclusion."

"I wasn't aware I was so transparent, Francine," Lee muttered. 

"Francine's right, Sir.The rumors were true.Lee was seriously involved with someone and he was off the market.The only thing that was a mystery was *who* he was involved with."Amanda looked up at Billy and smiled. 

"Hey, Billy, we're trained to protect secrets.Amanda and I kept this one fairly well protected, don't you think?"Lee flashed a smile at his boss.

"You know, Stetson," Francine smirked, "this **is just like you.You couldn't turn your head away from a challenge, and Amanda was the first woman in a long, long time who didn't succumb to your charms immediately like some of the others I've heard about.I guess our little housewife was smarter than I gave her credit for."At this statement, Amanda looked shocked and started to say something."No, no, Amanda.I'm not implying that you were trying to catch Scarecrow, but you have to admit that you were way smarter than to swoon over him at first sight like some others have." **

'If she only knew…' Amanda and Lee were both thinking.

* * *

To Be Continued…


	5. Default Chapter Title

Title:Consequences of our Actions

Disclosure: Warner Brothers Television Distribution and Shoot The Moon Productions owns these characters, as well as to the writers, and actors who created and portrayed them.I am just a humble author who wanted to breathe a little life back into them in an effort to be entertaining.

Timing and assumptions:Just after series ended.Obviously, no one knows about the marriage, Lee and Amanda are still sneaking around to get time together, and all those who were peeping toms into their lives want to know how it all ended up.Generous references to the past and the events of the 4th season… and occasionally you might see a character utter a familiar line…

Author:WhizGidget 

Written:Dec 2000-Jan 2001

Rating: PG-ish… probably more accurate as a G, but this allows for one's mind to wander…

Archive: at fanfiction.net, and if you wish to archive elsewhere, please email me.

Comments?I'd love to see 'em.Encouragement to continue?I'd love that too.Flames? Sure, why not, I need something to roast marshmallows by… 

* * *

"So Stetson, what now?"Amanda looked over at her husband.She was out of a job, and he was on indefinite suspension.Billy had promised to start looking over everything he could to convince Smyth that dissolving this team would be a mistake.Billy knew, however, that Smyth was stubborn, and that it would take time.He promised that it would be at least a week before he could do anything to make a slight dent in this mess.And that eventually it would be resolved.After all, why would Smyth want to break up the most successful team The Agency had ever seen?Despite their personal involvement, which had a significant history, they were still getting the job done properly.Smyth was just on another of his personal vendettas – as to why he seemed to have it in for Scarecrow was beyond anyone's logical reasoning.Popular theory among some agents was that maybe he was traumatized by the story of "The Wizard of Oz" as a child.Then again, no one could imagine Smyth as a child; other agents thought he hatched from somewhere at his present age, and with his unpleasant demeanor already in place.

Lee was thinking in a fairly positive manner – Amanda had had that effect on him since shortly after they met.He was fairly sure that they would have their jobs back quickly, but that there would be repercussions.He was sure that the rumor mill was already turning over this news – not just his suspension and the termination of Amanda's job, but the reasons why both had happened.And it would spread quickly – Francine knew about their marriage, and she was the queen of the rumormongers.She had assured them that she would keep a lid on it, and with her keeping her mouth shut, the rumor mill would go into overdrive at the both of them being gone.But no one could keep a lid on Dr. Smyth – he was a worse gossip than Francine.He was sure to open his mouth to crow about finally grounding Scarecrow and Mrs. King.

And how he managed to do it, or rather, how they managed to ground themselves.Amanda could image him snickering about it now. 

"What do we do now?We spend the rest of the day packing up my apartment, tell your mother and the boys about everything and spend tonight at the house in Arlington.Together."Lee looked back at Amanda, and from the look on his face, he wasn't kidding.He had pulled up in front of his apartment building, and got out of the Corvette.

Amanda followed him up to the apartment before she spoke again."Telling them what?That we lost our jobs, or—" Amanda paused."Lee, are you sure you want to do this?Lee?"He had headed straight for the bedroom, and she wasn't sure she should follow him.She looked around briefly – what *was* going on here at night after they split up.Smyth had mentioned having agents listen into the apartment every other night?Was someone else coming to Lee's apartment at night?She was going to have to address this soon, but this was neither the time nor the place – they had to figure out what to do about the boys, and thankfully, they had a little time to do so.It wasn't quite lunchtime, and the boys had baseball practice today which would keep them at school until at least 4:30.Summer break was scheduled to start in couple of weeks, though, and then they would be underfoot all day. 

Amanda made up her mind to head into the bedroom but stay at the doorway.She found Lee at his closet throwing things into a bag."Why are you packing a bag?Where are you going?"What happened to the stuff that he was supposed to have been packing up last night while he was here?Amanda's mind was racing with other thoughts; this disturbing one got pushed to the bottom of the queue. 

"With you, to your place."

"You're serious!?You want to tell them today and just move right in?We can't do that?They're not ready to hear this from us.We only just told them that we're dating a few months ago, and to tell them that we actually got married and have been sneaking around to be together.I don't know, Lee, how are my boys going to take it?And Mother, oh, she's going to be so disappointed that I didn't tell her anything-"

"Amanda, take a deep breath and calm down."Lee came out of the bathroom.Even after 4 years, he still couldn't fathom how she or her mother could talk for so long without taking a breath."They're going to be fine.Philip and Jaime aren't the little boys that they were when we first met.It's not like we're going to tell them about what we really do for a living."

"Really?Then how **are we going to explain that we got married 5 months ago and didn't want to tell anyone?For their safety?Ok, what's so dangerous about being documentary producers?How do we explain that one, Lee?And how do we explain the lovely bruise next to my eye from hitting the ground last night?"Amanda didn't seem the least bit pleased about this and she was going to break her necklace chain from how much she was moving that heart back and forth on it. **

"Amanda, that bruise doesn't look bad at all.You, um… you bumped into a door!"

"We've used that one.Mother's going to start thinking that either I have an inner ear problem or that you're beating me up if we keep having me 'bump into' something."

"You were mugged?"

"Every six months?"

"Amanda, unless Billy can do something about both our jobs and our professional partnership, I don't see the harm.Even if we're both re-instated I want your family to know.I suppose we could tell them that we could have put our jobs at risk, or funding for some of our documentaries, or –" Lee came over to Amanda, and grabbed her hand, stilling it from the nervous movements along the chain. 

"Or we could just tell them that we work for the government, and that we have clearances for sensitive information, and we had to hide this to protect them.That there are people who want some of the information we handle, and that we thought hiding this would be a good idea.We do work for the government, and we do handle sensitive information."Lee knew that Amanda hated lying to her mother and her sons.But she also disliked being disloyal – this explanation would handle both of those subjects without compromising her ethics.

"And the bruises?"Amanda smiled, almost knowing the answer.

"That would explain why you've been 'mugged' every six months."They both laughed for a moment, and Lee zipped up his bag.

"Amanda, it's still not the full truth, and as much as I would like to be able to tell you that you could tell them everything, you can't.I know that bothers you.But I would like to tell them that we are married, that we have been for a while.If it would make your mother happy, we can hold another ceremony.If it would make Philip and Jaime happy, I won't move in tonight, but it certainly will be easier to get you over here more often for the night."Lee pulled Amanda into his arms for a reassuring hug – he wasn't quite sure, though, if the hug was more for her or for him."As for anything else we must face, we'll figure it out as we go along.That's how we've handled everything so far, right?And the consequences haven't been that bad…" He leaned in to kiss her."Now, I'm as packed up as I want to be.Whatever shall we do for the rest of the afternoon, Mrs. Stetson," he teased as he wiggled his eyebrows at Amanda. 

"Why, I just don't know what you mean.We're going shopping.If you're making dinner for the family tonight, we need supplies."

"I'm making dinner?"Lee thought quickly as to when he might have made that promise."When did I say I was making dinner?"

"You just did."

* * *

When Philip and Jaime got home after practice, they found their mother and Lee in the kitchen, working on dinner.Both boys had a natural affection now for Lee.Jaime had taken a little while to come around, while Philip had taken to Lee almost immediately.The fact that he drove a Corvette had helped.Their grandmother came downstairs when she heard them come in and immediately sent them upstairs to change clothes and get cleaned up for dinner.Both Lee and Amanda, and the boys could stand a little more time in the status quo before the bomb dropped, Dotty thought.With that she chuckled to herself.*She* could have used a little more time in the status quo, but it was not to be. 

When Dotty had gotten home from her flying lesson, she was still slightly concerned about Amanda and how subdued she had been the previous night, but the sight of Lee's silver Corvette parked in front of the house calmed her.Amanda was always 250% happier when Lee was around, and Dotty was sure that today would be no exception.And she was proven right when she had found Amanda and Lee tangled up together in the kitchen.What drew Dotty's attention was not the fact that this dashing man was kissing her daughter senseless, and not the dazzling smile that Amanda had on her face, but instead, the shiny wedding rings she caught sight of.When they realized they were being watched, they broke apart quickly, and headed to opposite sections of the kitchen – Lee to the stove where the wok was sitting, and Amanda over to grab a bag of rice.Dotty laughed at them, and when they turned to look at her, she asked that they had better tell her what's going on. 

"Lee came over and he's making dinner tonight, Mother.That's all." 

"No, Amanda, that's not what I'm referring to.What's going on with the wedding rings?I'm your Mother, sweetheart, I'm not blind or stupid, and don't you bother hiding that hand in your pocket, Lee Stetson, I know what I saw on my daughter's hand, and on yours."Dotty smiled as Lee stopped, looking guilty, mid-stream from putting his hand in his pocket.

The three of them had sat down in the family room and both Lee and Amanda came clean about the wedding, apologizing the entire time for not telling Dotty, but emphasizing that the secrecy had to do with their jobs.She now knew that they had been working together for 4 years, starting dating 18 months ago, and married 5 months earlier.She didn't know the exact particulars of their jobs, but that they did have access to sensitive military and political information, and there were people who would want that information.Dotty was relieved – "well, at least you're not spies," she laughed.Lee and Amanda simply looked at Dotty, smiled and nodded, as if in agreement.Dotty knew that there was something else going on with this picture, but she wasn't really sure that she wanted to have any more information than she did.

It wasn't an impulse that they had gotten married – this was the real thing.She wasn't overjoyed that her daughter had eloped, and although they weren't admitting it, Dotty knew that it must have been Lee's idea.But she realized with the way they were explaining their jobs and why they hid such news from everyone was to protect herself and her grandsons.And from the look on Lee's face when he looked at Amanda, Dotty had no doubts that their explanation about their marriage was not something to be taken lightly. 

This, however, explained a lot about her daughter's strange behavior in the last 4 years: all the late night phone calls, and Amanda rushing off here and there, and it shed light on her behavior in the last few months – they had had to sneak around to get a night together whenever they could and that certainly wasn't healthy for a newly married couple, as far as Dotty was concerned.It also did nothing to assuage her newfound fear that their jobs might hurt the family, but Amanda looked so relieved – she had finally been able to be truthful about her personal life to her mother.

Lee had even come clean about being the one who was sneaking around in the garden, not the neighbor's dog that was the favorite excuse, and that he was the reason that no flowers ever grew under the kitchen window.He also offered to put down new soil and build a small fence around that window so that something could get the chance to grow, although, he admitted, he would miss popping up at the window and startling Amanda while she was in the kitchen.

Dotty was pretty steamed about the state of the garden, but not half as much as she was about missing her daughter's wedding.Lee forged ahead and promised Dotty that they would renew their vows on their 1st wedding anniversary for the world to see and share in, and that she could throw as big a reception as she wanted to plan.He knew that he'd pay for it when Amanda next got him alone, and that Dotty would go into overdrive over the renewal and reception, but if it smoothed a few feathers with his mother-in-law, then it was a small price to pay.

They did admit to one other skeleton in the closet – that IFF had found out about their relationship, and ultimately they had to admit their marriage – and that one of them had lost their jobs, while the other was suspended.Dotty figured it out before either could continue, that Lee got to keep his job because of his seniority, but that was shaky too, considering his indefinite suspension.

After getting assurances from them that there were no other skeletons in the closet, no unexpected pregnancies on the way, no dead bodies in the garage, Dotty left the two of them alone again in the kitchen to finish making dinner, and to make a couple of phone calls.As she passed Amanda's room, she took note of a bag that she had never seen before, and assumed it was Lee's.Yes, she would have to make those phone calls fast – they deserved some time alone together this night that they didn't have to sneak around to get.Their jobs could have hurt their relationship more than it could have harmed their family, because it was their jobs that prevented them from having any decent time alone together.

* * *

Dinner was a quiet affair, and somehow the boys knew something was going on.Everyone enjoyed the stir-fry that Lee had made, and Dotty was suitably impressed with his cooking skills, especially to find that some of his skills were honed around the world in his travels for work and in being shuttled around the world with his uncle, the Colonel.Despite the conversation with Dotty, Lee and Amanda kept looking at each other nervously.Dotty was also valiantly trying to keep some type of conversation going with the boys, but that was easier said than done.

Normally Philip and Jaime wouldn't stop talking or fighting, no matter who was at the table.Lee had had dinner with them in the past, and at least Philip would fire questions non-stop at him about the car.Tonight, they had not heard more than a dozen words from Philip, and most of those were related to passing the rice, the water, and the napkins.Jaime was actually holding some short conversations with Lee about baseball practice, school, and his latest science project.Lee tried to talk to Philip, but didn't get any response other than a blank stare.

Amanda clearly was worried, and when she passed Lee in the kitchen while they were clearing the table, she expressed that this might not be a good time to tell them. "Amanda, when will it be a good time to tell them?When we're celebrating our 10th anniversary?When the boys get married?Your mother isn't going to be able to keep this a secret forever, you know, and she won't want to either."Amanda nodded.Lee was frustrated, you could hear it in his voice, and he was right – there was no time like the present, and she was just being a chicken. 

"Philip, Jaime!We need to talk.Family meeting."When she saw Philip and Jaime heading for the kitchen, she added:"In the family room."Just then, the doorbell rang, and Dotty ran to get the door.She led Joe into the family room, congratulating him on his simply wonderful timing.

"Joe!What are you doing here?"Amanda turned completely pale.

"I'm not sure.Dotty called me and said I needed to get over here tonight, because there was something important going on.Is everything all right?"He looked from Amanda to Philip and Jaime, knowing that no one was hurt, but not sure what to expect.That's when he noticed Lee standing a couple of feet away from Amanda; he had to have something to do with whatever it was that Amanda had to say, and he looked as nervous as she did. 

Dotty had seated herself on the sofa, with the boys on either side.Joe found a seat on a nearby chair.Lee and Amanda stood up together, and looked at each other as if they were standing in front of a firing squad.

They had been standing there for about 30 seconds when Lee cleared his throat and immediately stared at his shoes.'Why is this making me nervous?I wasn't this nervous when I asked her to marry me, or when we actually got married.What's so difficult about telling her sons?_Our_ sons,' he corrected himself.He looked up and saw Dotty smiling, Jaime studying them carefully, and Philip looking like he was ready to beat someone up.Lee looked over at Amanda, and then back down at the floor. 

Dotty looked as nervous as they did, and she grabbed each of her grandson's hands.Philip looked suspiciously at his grandmother, and then over to his mother.She looked happy, nervous, was fidgeting and had a hand on her stomach to settle the butterflies that were romping around in there.Jaime was still studying Lee and Amanda.Then he noticed a glint of gold on Lee's left hand when he ran his hand nervously through his hair."Uh, Mom?Do you two have something to tell us?" he commented in a teasing tone.

Philip looked up, noticing the hand his mother had to her stomach, "Aw, Mom, don't tell us you're pregnant."With that said, he looked pointedly, and not kindly, towards Lee.

"No, fellas, I'm not pregnant.But Lee and I do have something pretty important to talk to you about."

Jamie spoke up again in a more serious tone of voice."Are you two going to tell us something then, that we should have already noticed?"Amanda looked questioningly at her son, who was smiling, as he pointed at Lee's left hand.

Philip then noticed the wedding band as well, and the anger that Lee had observed in his face came through loud and clear in his words."We trusted you!How could you do this!"Dotty, Joe and Amanda all reprimanded him to sit down at the same time.Lee looked uncomfortable and stuffed his hands into his pockets.Everyone in the room thought Philip's outburst was a reaction to the news.

"Boys, your mom and I didn't mean to tell you this way, but, well, um…" Lee trailed off and looked helplessly at Amanda.Jaime was smiling.He couldn't be happier that Lee was going to be his stepfather; despite the bad feelings he had had a few months earlier when they had first started dating, he really liked Lee.He wondered briefly what had gotten Philip so hot under the collar.Philip was the one who kept trying to convince Jaime that Lee was a great guy; now it seemed like he wished that Lee would disappear into the floor.

"Fellas, Lee and I have known each other for some time now, and we've been seeing each other for longer than we've admitted to you.There was a reason for it, but that's not an excuse.We should never have hidden this from you.Due to the nature of our jobs we have access to information that people from other countries would love to have, and there are rules at the office about this sort of thing, so we couldn't tell anyone about us.No one knew that we were seeing each other, except for all of you here, and that was difficult because you didn't know how long we really had been seeing each other.When we decided that it was time to take the next step, we knew we couldn't tell anyone.And well, one thing led to another, and we-" Amanda was cut off by her oldest son's angry voice. 

"So you shacked up together, and didn't bother to tell his wife, right?"Philip was bright red and if looks could kill, Lee would have been dead 5 minutes earlier.Amanda wondered if her oldest son had been hit on the head with a baseball earlier that day, or just was so angry that he wasn't listening to what they said.Then it registered what he had said.Joe and Lee beat her to the punch and spoke simultaneously. 

"Wife?"Lee quizzed. 

"Stetson, what does he mean by 'wife'?"Joe didn't look too happy at the news.

"What are you talking about, Philip?What wife?"Amanda was confused.

Philip cut his mother off once again."You scum.How could you treat my mom this way?Don't you have any respect for her?"He got up off the couch and started pacing the room.Much in the same way that his stepfather had paced Billy's office not a few hours earlier.

"Philip, that's enough."Lee finally found a detached professional voice and it had stopped Philip in his tracks. "I respect your mother greatly.She is a wonderful woman, an incredible mom, and the best co-worker that anyone could ask for.That's part of why I married her."Lee smiled at Philip who now was standing in the middle of the living room with mouth hanging open in shock.Which everyone, again, thought was because of the news."Besides the fact that I couldn't think of living the rest of my life without her."

"Then why do you have someone else answering your phone at your place?Someone female who isn't Mom.If Mom is so wonderful, then how come she doesn't know about this other woman?"Philip stalked right up to Lee, staring him in the eye.

Jaime was grinning from ear to ear.He could now see the wedding set on his mother's hand, and was thrilled.He figured that Philip was misunderstanding something or another.Maybe it had been Mom who answered the phone – after all, they were married, and it would be natural to answer the phone at Lee's place, right?Amanda registered her youngest son's reaction and set the thought aside, as she had expected that she would have to sell the idea to her youngest son, not the oldest, but here Jaime was, happier than she had ever seen him in a long time.She was going to have to get some answers and get them now.

Everyone was talking at each other at the same time.Jaime was trying to convince Philip that he's got to be wrong.Philip was also calling Jaime all sorts of names, the most common of which was 'worm brain'.Philip was also accusing Lee of already being married, Joe was yelling at Philip to leave Jaime alone, while trying to fight with Lee over what other woman would be in his life.Dotty was trying to convince Jaime to go into the kitchen and leave the situation, and valiantly trying to keep Lee's hands down at his sides, as he looked like he needed to punch something, and the first thing he could get would be Joe. 

Amanda couldn't take it anymore."Would everyone please stop yelling RIGHT NOW!"That got everyone's attention and they all turned towards her as she moved behind the couch towards the kitchen."I don't understand what's going on here.Lee and I were announcing our marriage, and World War III attempted to break out in my living room.Philip, what did you mean about another woman answering Lee's phone?"

"Amanda, we should talk about this-" Amanda cut Lee off.

"We will talk about this now, Lee.What other woman was in your apartment?And Philip, when did you call over there to hear someone else answer the phone?Perhaps you dialed the wrong number."Amanda started clutching at straws, but she knew that there was something else going on.

"I didn't dial the wrong number, Mom.I have Lee's number memorized."

"Amanda, I can explain."Lee didn't look guilty to Amanda, but instead very calm, very rational, and very much like he was about to interrogate a KGB operative. 

"You'd better, Stetson.Or else you're going to have to deal with me."Joe was livid. 

"Joe, shut up, sit down, and let me hear what Philip and Lee have to say."Joe stared at his ex-wife as if she'd starting sprouting snakes out her eyeballs.

"Mom, the other night, you were so down, Grandma asked me to call Lee and invite him over for dinner so that you'd cheer up.You're always so happy when he's around, and he'd given me his number before, so I called.But some lady picked up in his apartment and answered it 'Stetson residence', and I figured that it was probably a girlfriend or… a wife,… and-" Philip's voice faltered when he looked in Lee's direction, "I'm, uh, really wrong about this, um, aren't I?"When his eyes had settled on Lee, he took in the scowl on his new step-father's face. 

"So, you're the mystery caller who hung up the other night?She isn't a girlfriend, and she isn't my wife.My wife, your mother, is standing over there behind the couch looking like she's ready to kill me."Lee looked down at his shoes.They were looking more and more interesting as the night wore on.

"Who is she, Lee?I'm not deaf.I've heard rumors around work, but I thought that it was the steno pool being jealous."Everyone turned to stare at Amanda."Old girlfriend?" 

"Yes, she is an old girlfriend.No, we are not involved.And there is a valid reason she is coming to the apartment.And that's all I'm going to say to any of you until I have a chance to talk to Amanda alone."With that Lee crossed his arms over his chest, and didn't say another word.

"Well, um, I think that's my cue.Boys, get upstairs and pack.You're going to stay with your father for a couple of days.Amanda, I hope you don't mind that I made these arrangements without consulting you, but it looks like you're going to need the time."She held a hand up as Amanda opened her mouth to speak, "Don't thank me now, I need to go up and pack.Captain Kurt's picking me up and I'm going to stay at his condo.But you have some more explaining to do."With that, she walked out of the family room, heading upstairs, as Joe walked angrily out the front door.

* * *

To Be Continued…


	6. Default Chapter Title

Title:Consequences of our Actions

Disclosure: Warner Brothers Television Distribution and Shoot The Moon Productions owns these characters, as well as to the writers, and actors who created and portrayed them.I am just a humble author who wanted to breathe a little life back into them in an effort to be entertaining.

Timing and assumptions:Just after series ended.Obviously, no one knows about the marriage, Lee and Amanda are still sneaking around to get time together, and all those who were peeping toms into their lives want to know how it all ended up.Generous references to the past and the events of the 4th season… and occasionally you might see a character utter a familiar line…

Author:WhizGidget 

Written:Dec 2000-Jan 2001

Rating: PG-ish… probably more accurate as a G, but this allows for one's mind to wander…

Archive: at fanfiction.net, and I'd be honored to be elsewhere, just email me and let me know where (astolzman@yahoo.com)

Comments?I'd love to see 'em.Encouragement to continue?I'd love that too.Flames? Sure, why not, I need something to roast marshmallows by…

Notes from me: I loved writing this story, and I thank everyone who encouraged me to continue.I hope that I can continue to entertain you…my ego hopes so too.8-D

* * *

Dotty was the first to leave; just a few minutes later, with a bag in hand, and cautious smile on her face.Lee offered to carry her bag out to the cab, and she refused, but he continued to walk her out."Lee, I don't know you very well, but what I do know is that you have made my daughter very happy over the last couple of years.This *is* just a mis-understanding, isn't it?"Lee nodded." Oh, thank goodness.It's no wonder things never worked out with Dean.I mean he was so dependable, and stable, and nice, but she didn't seem to have that spark for him like she does when you're around.Well, between you and me, Dean *was* a little boring.And you'd better make sure that you work this out with Amanda, or you're going to have to deal with me when I get back, Lee.You do not want to deal with me if you break my daughter's heart."

"Dotty, I promise you that you are right.This is a complete mis-understanding, and I should have explained what was going on weeks ago, but I didn't think I was ready.And we didn't think that our jobs would be hanging in the balance because of our relationship."Lee mused on the comments about Dean, and made a mental note to share that with Amanda later.After he cleared up this mess that he was in."I would never do anything to hurt Amanda.You're right.You don't know very much about me, but Amanda knows me and my history, and if she had any doubts she wouldn't be in that house waiting for me to explain myself."

Dotty nodded.She knew her daughter very well, and so, apparently, did Lee."Well, I expect that you're not going to clue an old lady in, are you?"She smiled hopefully, already knowing the answer.

Lee laughed."Oh no, Dotty," he said while shaking his finger slightly, "I said I wanted to speak with Amanda first.Then I will explain everything to everyone else.Believe me, I won't be breaking her heart.That is a promise.Enjoy the next couple of days with Captain Kurt."

"Lee, I wanted this time off for you and Amanda to be alone and for you to move in.If you work this out, I expect that you'll be living here when I come back." 

"Not until the boys agree, Dotty. I won't put any more pressure on them than they might be feeling already."Lee smiled and helped her into her cab."Don't worry about us."

As he walked back into the house, the boys came downstairs with backpacks in hand.Philip shot a glare over at Lee, not entirely sure that he was being on the level with everyone.He quickly headed out the door after giving a quick hug to Amanda.Jaime wished her luck in the conversation that she looked like she was about to have with Lee, told her that he believed Lee, that this was a misunderstanding, and headed after his brother.He also wished Lee luck, and said he couldn't be happier.Lee could have floated on air with those words.

Joe had never came back in to say goodnight, Lee hadn't seen him when he'd walked Dotty out, and in a couple of minutes, the two remaining occupants of the house heard his car start up and drive away.They looked at each other, sighed, and sat down on the couch at the same time, side by side.

4247 Maplewood was finally silent.For all of 3 minutes. 

"Lee."

"Hmmm?"His head was tilted back on the couch, and his eyes were closed.All of a sudden he was incredibly tired, but he knew what he was about to face. 

"We need to talk."Amanda paused, "Now."

Amanda's tone of voice when she said that they needed to talk made Lee sit up and take notice."Who is she?"Amanda couldn't even look at him when she asked.She just stared at her feet. 

Lee took a deep breath.How did those rumors get out?There was no way that anyone else could have known about Sarah Brawley.He had kept it so quiet, they met only at his apartment, and there was no way… except Smyth's critters.That's what happened.He hadn't really been ready to tell Amanda about Sarah, but he supposed that there wasn't any other choice after Philip dropped that little bomb about calling his apartment."Amanda, god, how can I start without it sounding bad?"

"It's true? Oh gosh, Lee, don't let this be true!"

"Well it is and it isn't.Yes, she is an old girlfriend, and I am seeing her, but not in the way you think," Lee grabbed Amanda's hand before she could get up and walk away."I want you to hear me out.After what happened in California, I realized that I've had too many losses in my life: my parents, my childhood, Dorothy… I lost one partner, and I almost lost another.And regardless of what happened to you, I'm a stepfather to those boys.If something *had* happened, they would never know that.And I wasn't entirely sure that I was ready to be their stepfather.I didn't know how to handle all of this, and I didn't want to talk with Pfaff or else Smyth would get hold of the files."Lee paused.He tipped Amanda's chin up to look in her eyes."I needed someone to talk to who could help me."

"Lee, you could always talk to me.I'll always help you. I'm your friend, your partner, and your wife.I'll always be here to listen to you."

"Amanda, in our business, that's not always true.I almost lost you as part of a freak accident that no one could have predicted.And I needed someone detached from the situation to talk to.So I called a couple of old friends and they recommended Sarah.I'd completely forgotten about her, she's a therapist, an old friend, and she has some very powerful clients – she knows about The Agency and she knows how to be discreet.For the last couple of months, Sarah's been coming over to the apartment.Otherwise her office and files would have to be regularly swept."Lee got up and started walking around the room.He stopped at the mantle, where a picture of Amanda and the boys were.As he picked up the photo, he thought 'This is my family. I won't lose them.'

Lee continued speaking."In the time I've spent with Sarah, I've come to realize that these losses aren't my fault.It wasn't my fault that my parents died, and there was nothing I could do to save Dorothy, or my first partner, or to prevent you from getting shot in California…"

"Why couldn't you have told me about this?"He couldn't put a definition to the look on Amanda's face.She wasn't angry, she wasn't sad, she wasn't happy.It was just a blank look.She'd reverted to agent mode.

"I wanted to.Believe me.But I also wanted you to be involved in a couple of sessions, and I couldn't do that until I was really ready and had told you.This is not the way I envisioned you finding out what was going on, but then, I didn't expect a rumor at The Agency to be started.I expect it was Smyth and his little critters that prompted that.Amanda, I am so sorry that you had to find out this way."Lee looked over at his wife, who know was finding *her* shoes a very interesting subject.He walked over and reached over for her hand, and started rubbing his thumb over her knuckles."Believe me.This is forever, Amanda.You helped me burn those black books of mine a while back, remember?The old Lee Stetson wouldn't have done that – he would have made sure that you never even knew that they existed."

Amanda was silent for a couple of minutes.Her face was expressionless.Lee wasn't sure what to do, and he softly called her name, not expecting a response.

"Call her."

"What? Who?"

"Call Sarah.I want to talk to her.Tonight."

* * *

Two and half hours later, Sarah was starting to yawn, and started to collect her notes so as to get ready to leave the white house in Arlington that Lee had told her so much about.She had confirmed all of what Lee had to say about their discussions to Amanda, who had a few interesting insights about Lee herself.That's when Sarah realized just how very lucky Lee Stetson had gotten in happening across Amanda King in a train station.He'd found his way to the human race – and was very different than the unfeeling agent she knew long ago.That chapter in his life was over, and the demons that went with it were being banished.

Lee had called her two months earlier to help get rid of those demons, at the advice of a mutual and discreet friend, and to eventually have Amanda involved in the process.After this one session, Sarah didn't see the need to have Amanda present any further.And she didn't see the need to see Lee anymore as a patient.She had finished reaching for her notes on the coffee table, stacked them all together, and fastened a large clip around them.She handed them to Lee. 

"Why are you giving me your notes?"Lee queried. 

"Because we're done.Now if you don't mind, could I have a hand getting out of this chair?It's no walk in the park being 8 months pregnant, you know."Amanda immediately got up to help her.

"Um, Sarah, shouldn't you keep the notes on Lee's sessions?After all, you're his therapist?"Amanda seemed slightly puzzled at this turn of events. 

"I don't keep any notes for people who aren't my patients anymore.That's just a standard part of the way I practice.After a patient breaks off with me, they generally don't come back.In the rare cases that they have, we just cover the same ground again, and a new perspective comes from it.And then I don't have to worry about someone getting their hands on my session notes years later and using them against the patient.Besides, I don't expect to have to see Lee anymore, though.He's got you, Amanda.You're better for him than I ever could be."Sarah grabbed her briefcase, and started towards the door.

Lee was just staring at the notes in his hand."Um, Sarah?"He got up and walked towards her."Thank you.But what should I do with these?" 

"Whatever you wish.Burn them, save them, frame them, publish them.They're your thoughts, you own them, and you should keep them."She rubbed the small of her back, as it was a little achy from sitting down too long.Thankfully, she didn't have too long a drive back to her home ahead of her.

"Uh, ok.Give my best to Paul, please?"Lee gave Sarah a quick hug, and helped her with her coat."In fact, let me walk you to your car."They headed out the front door. 

Amanda started clearing up the dishes and coffee cups.'What a night', she thought.She heard the front door close softly, and waited for the inevitable sneak attack by her husband.When none came, she turned and looked into the living room.Lee was sitting on the sofa, staring at the papers in his hands.

"Lee?"Amanda started towards him."What are you going to do?"

Lee got up, threw the papers in the fireplace and threw a match in after them.Who cared if it was the beginning of June, and they had started a fire, as long as those notes disappeared as ash on the wind.He turned to Amanda, hugged her and told her he was sorry for not telling her sooner.They ended up sitting in front of the fireplace, watching those papers and ghosts burn until they were gone.

* * *

The next couple of days flew by, while Amanda and Lee went back to his apartment to pack much of it up.They carted a few boxes of unnecessary items into her attic, but left the clothes and other essentials at his apartment ready to move at a moment's notice.Lee mused that this would be a walk in the park since he was used to living out of a bag, briefcase or piece of luggage with so many years of traveling for The Agency.

Every night they fell asleep exhausted at Amanda's house from all the activity.They had attempted to inspire a romantic mood by showering together on the second night, but they were so tired they ended holding each other up in the shower.

On the third day, when the boys were expected home, Amanda went outside to wait for Joe so that they could talk about what happened.He wasn't very receptive to coming into the house, as he saw Lee's Corvette parked in the driveway behind Amanda's Jeep, but if he wanted to know the whole story, Amanda insisted, that was the only way.

Joe had taken the news of their marriage rather well, all things considered.He didn't let on that he suspected that they had been seeing each other, but it didn't matter.Amanda was happier than he had seen in ages, and that was what was important.Other than who was that other woman that Philip had told them about.The thought of that had Joe seeing red once again, but he had promised Amanda that he'd stay calm.

When Philip came in, he ran straight upstairs knowing that he'd avoid Lee if he did so.Jaime headed for the kitchen, and greeted Lee, who was having a cup of coffee."Lee, are you and Mom all straightened out now?"

"You bet.Your mom and I will explain it all in a little while.First we need to talk to your father.Why don't you head upstairs and try to convince Philip that I'm not such a bad guy?"Lee winked at his stepson – once, Philip was the one who had that role.

When Joe came in, Lee offered him a cup of coffee, and sat down with him and Amanda to hear about what was going on when Philip had called the apartment.Since Joe knew about Lee's involvement with The Agency, it made explaining why he had sought out someone to talk to easier to explain.They all knew that it wouldn't be that easy to explain it to the boys, however, but Joe promised to support Lee's explanation.He did warn them, however, after getting back to his place, Philip had yelled for about a half hour, and then had been quiet the rest of the time.He wouldn't even speak to Jaime about what was going on.

There was another topic besides the mystery woman that they needed to discuss, and after a quick talk about it, Joe agreed to stick around for that as well.Lee didn't expect, however, that either conversation would go smoothly.When the boys came downstairs, the three adults called them into the family room to sit down and talk this out a little more.Philip certainly did not look happy about any of this, and moved to sit as far away from Lee as possible. 

"Who is she?"Philip sounded exactly the same as his mother had a couple of days earlier.

"Philip, her name is Sarah, and she's a therapist.When Lee was a little boy, both his parents died, and he's lost a couple of other people that were very important to him as well."

"Then your Mom was shot in California, and I thought I was going to lose her, without us every getting a chance to tell you about the two of us.I didn't know how I was going to explain that I'm your stepfather without your mother being with us.And when she recovered, I realized that I was afraid of being a part of the family because I didn't want to lose you guys either."Lee looked from one boy to the other, and then to Joe, who nodded.

"But why did you have to talk to someone else besides Mom?She's one of the best people to talk to?"Philip was curious. 

"Sarah could be more objective than your Mom.Your Mom would just want to hug me and make it better, but what I needed was an objective opinion as to why I was feeling the way I did.And because your Mom, and you, were part of the reason I was seeing Sarah, it just didn't seem right." 

"So, you were seeing this lady because you couldn't talk to mom, and you were scared of us?"Jaime finally spoke up. 

"Yeah, I guess you could put it that way."Lee looked relieved.

"Oh."Philip got up and walked over to Lee."I'm sorry for being mad at you and jumping to conclusions.I should have just asked you what was going on."

"Thanks, Philip.That would have saved a lot of distress the other night, but I should have told your mother what was going on too.Friends, again?"They shook hands.

"Fellas, we have something else to discuss with you too."Both boys looked at their mother.

Lee knew that there was no avoiding this question, and that he had to be the one to ask it."Philip, Jaime… I know this news is, um, was unexpected, and I don't expect you to be comfortable with this for a while.As we said, we didn't intend to keep this from you forever, and if you want to blame anyone for keeping this secret from everyone, then blame me.I was only concerned for your and your mother's safety."

"Lee, that's not true, and you know it.Boys, he isn't entirely to blame – he didn't force me to not tell you boys.I went along with it, and I am as much to blame.But what he said about keeping us all safe is true.It's the only reason we didn't have a ceremony with you and your grandma all together."Amanda looked from one son to the other.Jaime was nodding his head, as if life-altering secrets were dumped on him every day.Amanda was so proud at how far her youngest boy had come emotionally – he used to be jealous of Lee, now it seemed like he was his biggest supporter.Philip, who had previously been Lee's champion, was studying his shoelaces.

Lee continued. "I'm not going to try and replace your dad, and I wouldn't want to.But I do want us to be friends, and I think we were on the right track before your mom and I sprung this on you, and this misunderstanding about Sarah.I love your mom very much.And if it's ok with you, if you're ready, I'd like to move in.I think your grandmother had originally arranged all this time off so that I could do just that, but I won't until I know both of you are going to be OK with it."Lee stopped and looked at Amanda.She nodded and smiled.He was doing fine with approaching the subject, and wasn't forcing anything on them. 

Joe spoke up, "I know your mother doesn't love you any less because she loves Lee enough to marry him.And this doesn't mean that I'm going to see you any less, either.But it will make me feel better that there's going to be someone else around who cares about you, and you can turn to for help if you need it."

Jaime spoke up."Lee, this is so weird.It's going to be weird for a while.But if you want to move in, that's ok with me."He smiled shyly and looked down.He didn't know what else to say, and thought that it was pretty cool for Lee to be asking their permission to move in with them."You should live here now.After all, you married Mom, and it's probably been weird not living together like you're supposed to when you're married.Uh, thanks for asking our permission."Jaime felt really grown up at that moment – he had a part in an important decision, and Lee wasn't going to make it an ultimatum."I, um, think it's cool that you're going to be our step-dad.Uh, I guess you *are* our step-dad, huh?"He looked to his father cautiously, but Joe was smiling and nodded at Jaime.

Philip had been quiet again, and the truth of the matter was that he didn't know what to say."Mom, Lee… um."He sighed."I guess it's ok with me too.I'm still not sure about this whole thing, but Jaime made a good point:Lee has a right to stay here.And, uh, I think he's going to be a good step-dad too."

Amanda could have cried at that moment for how understanding her boys were being about Lee's role as their stepfather.It was exactly the support he needed."Fellas, come here."She held out her arms to hug the two young men."Thank you," she whispered.

Joe knew that this was the right time to leave and let everyone start to get settled and adjusted to the new lifestyle that was about to descend on 4247 Maplewood.Joe nodded at Amanda, who he noticed, was valiantly trying not to cry, and shook Lee's hand, wishing him congratulations.He bid them goodbye, and showed himself out the door.Lee Stetson was a more sensitive man than he had previously given him credit for.Amanda and the boys were going to be in good hands, he thought as he looked back at the house just before driving away.

* * *

The End… until after they're all moved in… but that's another story for another day… 


End file.
